2025 EV & self-driving news

[Kaido]

Is VW really this far along???

Volkswagen's Autonomous 'ID Buzz' Robotaxi Is Ready, And Cities And Companies Can Buy Them Soon - Slashdot

The classic VW bus got an all-electric update — but that was just the beginning. Now there's an autonomous driving version (that's intended for commercial fleets, reports Jalopnik, "a level 4 vehicle that drives set routes" that's "going into full production" as the ID Buzz AD. (The AD stan...

tech.slashdot.org

I didn't even know they were working on a system!

Volkswagen's Autonomous ID Buzz Robotaxi Is Actually Real, And Cities And Companies Can Buy Them Soon - Jalopnik

This turnkey solution for Level 4 automated driving has its sights set on Waymo.

www.jalopnik.com

 

[manly]

I didn't even know they were working on a system!

Volkswagen's Autonomous ID Buzz Robotaxi Is Actually Real, And Cities And Companies Can Buy Them Soon - Jalopnik

This turnkey solution for Level 4 automated driving has its sights set on Waymo.

www.jalopnik.com

I know what you're thinking: a used & depreciated one in about 5 years would be amazballs!

 

[Kaido]

I know what you're thinking: a used & depreciated one in about 5 years would be amazballs!

A lady in my town got a yellow EV bus & I REALLY like it! But 234 miles for $70k is NUTS lol. #Ecoboost4lyfe lol

The new 2026 Silverado EV Max has an absolutely massive 493-mile range, but I'm not really interested in it tbh. I liked the Cybertruck because it was so weird (crazy design, stainless steel panels, 4-wheel steering, etc.); regular-looking trucks in general aren't really all that appealing to me personally. I'd definitely go for a 500-mile VW Bus tho!! Crazy that they didn't fit a larger battery in it!

 

[Brainonska511]

A lady in my town got a yellow EV bus & I REALLY like it! But 234 miles for $70k is NUTS lol. #Ecoboost4lyfe lol

The new 2026 Silverado EV Max has an absolutely massive 493-mile range, but I'm not really interested in it tbh. I liked the Cybertruck because it was so weird (crazy design, stainless steel panels, 4-wheel steering, etc.); regular-looking trucks in general aren't really all that appealing to me personally. I'd definitely go for a 500-mile VW Bus tho!! Crazy that they didn't fit a larger battery in it!

Considering that most people don't drive that far on a daily basis, 234 miles is fine. You are an extreme outlier to need such a high level of range.

And people spend all sorts of bs amounts of money on things they don't really fit their needs. Look at all the pickup trucks on the road that are just pavement princesses.

 

[Kaido]

Look at all the pickup trucks on the road that are just pavement princesses.

I know so many dudes with $80k pickup trucks...feels like you should own some kind of crazy Corvette for that price lol

 

[96Firebird]

Considering that most people don't drive that far on a daily basis, 234 miles is fine. You are an extreme outlier to need such a high level of range.

However, that bigger battery also (presumably) equates to further distance while towing/hauling. I think this is where the real win of the "long range" truck is.

Edit - After looking at the electrek article, I don't understand the pricing.

478mi LT Max is $91,295, while the 478mi Trail Boss Max is $88,695?

Also, +$16k-$20k for 68 miles more of range?

Edit2 - Looks like the numbers are messed up in the chart for the LT Extended/Max MSRP, as the paragraph below it says $68,95 and $76,295 respectively.

 

[Brainonska511]

However, that bigger battery also (presumably) equates to further distance while towing/hauling. I think this is where the real win of the "long range" truck is.

Edit - After looking at the electrek article, I don't understand the pricing.

478mi LT Max is $91,295, while the 478mi Trail Boss Max is $88,695?

Also, +$16k-$20k for 68 miles more of range?

Edit2 - Looks like the numbers are messed up in the chart for the LT Extended/Max MSRP, as the paragraph below it says $68,95 and $76,295 respectively.

Yes, longer hauling, but that's almost certainly a niche thing for most truck buyers. There are also diminishing returns to stacking more heavy batteries into a vehicle to extend range.

It's just a relatively crazy thing that people complain about vehicle prices, range, and towing capabilities when they aren't using the range or bed space more than once a year. Financially speaking, they'd be better off buying a cheaper and lighter vehicle, and using the money saved to just renting or pa for delivery for the rare times they need something different.

 

[Kaido]

Yes, longer hauling, but that's almost certainly a niche thing for most truck buyers. There are also diminishing returns to stacking more heavy batteries into a vehicle to extend range.

It's just a relatively crazy thing that people complain about vehicle prices, range, and towing capabilities when they aren't using the range or bed space more than once a year. Financially speaking, they'd be better off buying a cheaper and lighter vehicle, and using the money saved to just renting or pa for delivery for the rare times they need something different.

That's my take too:

The average round-trip commute in the U.S. is about 40 miles.

1. Buy a cheap EV
2. Rent an ICE for trips (car, truck, RV)

I was excited about the prospect of the Cybertruck. I wanted the 500-mile version for work & my wife was going to get to get the base. $39k with a bed was a bonkers deal for how little maintenance would be required!

The estimated maintenance cost for a Tesla Cybertruck over 5 years is $1,986.

As both turned out to be vaporware (among other issues lol), we switched to a 240-mile Slate EV for her & I'm sticking with #EcoboostPowa for now lol. There are a LOT of options in the 400+ mile range now tho!

 

[manly]

Welp, since only 500 miles will do, @Kaido 's wife will need to work another job so he can upgrade to the Lucid Air in due time.

 

[Kaido]

upgrade to the Lucid Air in due time

"ChatGPT, design me a car that looks like I'm middle-aged"

 

[Greenman]

I know so many dudes with $80k pickup trucks...feels like you should own some kind of crazy Corvette for that price lol

The sad part is that most of them would be better served by a Camry.

 

[Kaido]

The sad part is that most of them would be better served by a Camry.

Yes, but then you don't get to feel MACHO!

 

[Brovane]

I wonder if you can reject delivery and send it back to the factory?

World's First Autonomous Delivery of a Car | Tesla

 

[Kaido]

I wonder if you can reject delivery and send it back to the factory?

World's First Autonomous Delivery of a Car | Tesla

That's crazy! afaik this guy just took delivery of the world's first self-delivered car, that's crazy!

I would buy one in a heartbeat if it could go get my Walmart Trunk Delivery order for me LOL

 

[Kaido]

Tesla Robotaxi command center:

* View the live cameras of the Teslas
* See all the rides
* Monitor the weather
* etc.

If they can crack this code, their profits will be CRAZY due to the vertical integration...build the cars, the FSD software, build the fuel network, the AI, and the taxi service...

 

[Kaido]

‘Lidar is lame’: why Elon Musk’s vision for a self-driving Tesla taxi faltered:

‘Lidar is lame’: why Elon Musk’s vision for a self-driving Tesla taxi faltered

The company’s rollout of its new driverless cars has gotten off to a wobbly start – and rival Waymo remains well ahead

www.theguardian.com

My thoughts:

1. Tesla Autopilot is fantastic for what is is
2. However, for progress towards FSD, there are simply hardware limitations with using a vision-only system
3. Curious about how Cybertaxis are going to handle bad whether & how remote operators are going to take over if they can't see...

Musk’s insistence on camera-only technology has landed Tesla in hot water over fatal crashes involving drivers using the full self-driving feature. The company is now the focus of government investigations and civil lawsuits, which allege that full self-driving is impeded by weather conditions such as sun glare, fog, dust and darkness. There have been at least 736 crashes and 17 deaths involving the technology, according to an analysis by the Washington Post.

“Tesla continues to have this fetishistic view that it’s going to operate its system solely on cameras, despite every intelligent human being in this entire space saying that can’t be done,” said Brett Schreiber, an attorney who represents several alleged victims of Tesla’s autopilot failures.

“Everyone who has been following collision-avoidant technology since the 90s knows that the holy trinity is radar, lidar and cameras.”

Schreiber said he was not surprised to see the wobbling rollout of Tesla’s robotaxis in Austin.

“What you’re also going to see, which is the true tragedy of this thing, is people continuing to be injured and killed by this technology,” he said. “And that’s where it becomes less of a ‘Oh, isn’t that cute? The vehicle can’t make a left’ to now we’re actually at someone’s funeral because of the choices Tesla makes.”