I was had planned to do a long post on self-driving cars a quite long time. I was planning to do one this spring, but I might not do that, because it seems that predictions that self-driving cars would be here in 2020 were far too rosy. Five years ago, several companies including Nissan and Toyota promised self-driving cars in 2020. So it may be wise to take any new forecasts with a grain of salt. Hare is a worth to check out article of the current status of self-driving cars:
Surprise! 2020 Is Not the Year for Self-Driving Cars
https://spectrum.ieee.org/transportation/self-driving/surprise-2020-is-not-the-year-for-selfdriving-cars
In March, because of the coronavirus, self-driving car companies, including Argo, Aurora, Cruise, Pony, and Waymo, suspended vehicle testing and operations that involved a human driver. Around the same time, Waymo and Ford released open data sets of information collected during autonomous-vehicle tests and challenged developers to use them to come up with faster and smarter self-driving algorithms.
It seems that the self-driving car industry still hopes to make meaningful progress on autonomous vehicles (AVs) this year, but the industry is slowed by the pandemic and facing a set of very hard problems that have gotten no easier to solve over the years.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/17408-eurooppalaiset-autonvalmistajat-lopettivat-viennin-yhdysvaltoihin
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/17411-auto-tunnistaa-digiavaimen-pian-pidemmaen-matkan-paeaestae
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/new-products/17413-ledivalojen-hallinta-taeysin-yhdelle-sirulle
Tomi Engdahl says:
Financial Times:NEW
European carmakers are increasingly doing deals with Chinese rivals to prevent them from falling behind in core areas such as software and autonomous driving — The EU is trading market access for expertise in key technologies, just as Beijing once did — Two decades ago …
Europe helped teach China to make cars. Now the tables are turning
https://www.ft.com/content/9de3f441-5288-4a0a-afed-09b811475d93
Tomi Engdahl says:
Saksalainen autonvalmistaja on maksukyvytön – Bild: Valmistus pysäytetty, konkurssi uhkaa
Euroopan autoteollisuus on nyt myrskyn silmässä. Uusin uhri on superrikkaiden luksusautovalmistaja.
https://www.is.fi/autot/art-2000011173742.html
Saksalainen luksusautovalmistaja Isdera on nyt maksukyvytön ja autojen valmistus on pysäytetty, kertoo Bild.
Isdera on vuonna 1982 perustettu eksklusiivinen luksusmerkki, joka on valmistanut arvokkaita keräilyautoja äärimmäisen pieninä erinä. Joitakin yhtiön autoista on myyty jopa yli miljoonan euron hinnalla.
Yhtiön perustaja Eberhard Schultz myi yrityksensä Sinfonia Automotivelle vuonna 2016, minkä jälkeen Isdera aloitti uusien kiinalaisten yhteistyökumppaneidensa kanssa Commendatore GT -sähköurheiluauton kehittämisen.
Aiempia malleja olivat mm. Isdera Spyder, Isdera Imperator 108i sekä Isdera Commendatore 112i.
Uusi sähkömalli ei kuitenkaan menestynyt ja sitä myytiin tiettävästi vain kaksi kappaletta, minkä jälkeen merkistä ei julkisuudessa juuri kuultu.
Isderan autoja on nähty vuosien mittaan harvakseltaan erilaisissa maailmanluokan autotapahtumissa, mutta ei tiettävästi Suomessa.
Omien automalliensa ohella Isdera on tarjonnut konsultointipalveluita Saksan autoteollisuudelle.
Luxus-Marke meldet Insolvenz an: Deutscher Autohersteller Isdera pleite
https://www.bild.de/news/inland/deutscher-autohersteller-pleite-luxus-marke-meldet-insolvenz-an-67fce31c0c382a03794ea709
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/17419-pii-on-edelleen-voimissaan-saehkoeautoissa
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tesla Competitor Reveals Electric Car That Can Charge in Five Minutes
Incredible things are happening in China.
https://futurism.com/tesla-byd-electric-vehicle-charge-five-minutes
As slumping EV giant Tesla’s sales slow to a crawl, rival Chinese company BYD is starting to eat its lunch.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chinese Owned Brands Outsell Tesla in Europe February Sales.
https://www.vehiclesuggest.com/chinese-owned-brands-outsell-tesla-in-europe-february-sales/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/17425-taellainen-muisti-pitaeae-olla-tulevaisuuden-autossa
Autoteollisuuden siirtyessä yhä vahvemmin ohjelmistovetoisiin ajoneuvoihin ja sähköistettyihin alustoihin, myös muistiteknologialta vaaditaan enemmän. STMicroelectronics esitteli uuden sukupolven mikro-ohjaimia, joissa on laajennettavissa oleva xMemory-muisti – ratkaisu, joka voi määrittää tulevaisuuden autojen elektroniikka-arkkitehtuurin uudelleen.
Uutuus perustuu yhtiön omaan Phase-Change Memory (PCM) -teknologiaan, joka lupaa kaksinkertaista muistitiheyttä, pienintä bittikokoa markkinoilla ja aiempaa parempaa suorituskykyä. Ensimmäisenä xMemory saapuu Stellar P6 -mikro-ohjaimiin, jotka on suunniteltu erityisesti sähköautojen ajonhallintaan.
Tomi Engdahl says:
‘The damage is done’: Traders say Elon Musk’s return to Tesla is too little, too late
https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-ceo-doge-white-house-tsla-stock-investors-2025-4?fbclid=IwY2xjawJ2mpJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHt0qQ59Q6Iyqa37LXDp9U6Dst5DnLnWKvB9N81JY6yqv1WBL8Aq3Y8pcrycX_aem_buObh0lgPkMw7d1nMHs6AA&utm_campaign=mrf-insider-marfeel-headline-graphic&mrfcid=20250423680956b3297b713ff40fbdcd
Tomi Engdahl says:
Rebecca Bellan / TechCrunch:
Tesla says it has started testing its autonomous ride-hailing service with employees in Austin and the Bay Area, and has completed 15,000 miles of driving — Tesla has started testing its autonomous ride-hail service with employees in Austin and the Bay Area ahead of the company’s planned robotaxi launch this summer.
Tesla begins ‘FSD Supervised’ ride-hail tests with employees in Austin, Bay Area
https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/23/tesla-begins-fsd-supervised-ride-hail-tests-with-employees-in-austin-bay-area/
Tesla has started testing its autonomous ride-hail service with employees in Austin and the Bay Area ahead of the company’s planned robotaxi launch this summer.
“FSD Supervised ride-hailing service is live for an early set of employees in Austin & San Francisco Bay Area,” the company posted Wednesday on X.
FSD stands for “Full Self-Driving,” which is Tesla’s advanced driver assistance system available to Tesla owners via subscription that can perform some automated driving tasks. The system, which requires the driver to keep their hands on the wheel, is not yet capable of autonomously driving. Thousands of Tesla owners already drive themselves around with supervised FSD. Tesla’s announcement Wednesday centers on the addition of a “Robotaxi” app that will theoretically be used by non-Tesla owners to hail a vehicle in the fleet.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/17455-saehkoeauton-akku-laehes-taeyteen-18-minuutissa
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tesla’s Earnings Are Even More Brutal Than We Expected
Yikes.
https://futurism.com/tesla-earnings-brutal-elon-musk?fbclid=IwY2xjawJ4XtxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHt8gukuRQEjkKc_VABGnp-6kmPibWGZAX3tjGvZat08p-v2uCoPmkCSF_E3w_aem_WFm8wCZISIQjdv5wYvcsrQ
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tesla’s $10B Blow — Full Self-Driving Nightmare
https://engineerine.com/teslas-10-billion-blow/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJ4rjVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHmF0SjS3uI4081hyPf9bf8bBdpX7TLqulEH3bL57BhievJq0hg63uATOrLCx_aem_c4bw4irbvD8tveT-jn0BUw
Elon Musk’s Tesla, a symbol of innovation in the electric vehicle world, now finds itself entangled in one of the largest recalls in automotive history. A seemingly minor software issue has escalated into a staggering recall involving over 4 million Tesla vehicles, with an estimated cost of $10 billion in fixes, updates, and associated impacts.
The heart of the problem lies in Tesla’s Autopilot driver-assistance system. According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Tesla’s vehicles may allow drivers to misuse the system, leading to an increased risk of crashes.
The concern was first raised after multiple incidents involving Teslas on Autopilot being involved in fatal or near-fatal accidents. Investigations found that in certain edge cases, the system didn’t provide enough warnings or prompts to ensure the driver remained attentive. The software simply trusted users too much — and regulators weren’t okay with that.
The recall affects nearly 4.2 million vehicles, including:
Model S (2012–2023)
Model X (2016–2023)
Model 3 (2017–2023)
Model Y (2020–2023)
This is nearly the entire Tesla fleet sold in the U.S. over the last decade. While the fix is being pushed as an over-the-air software update, the scale of this recall is what’s making headlines — not just the cost but the reputational risk involved.
While Tesla won’t be replacing parts or physically calling millions of cars into service centers, the cost of correcting the software, handling regulatory compliance, legal challenges, insurance changes, and potential class action lawsuits could exceed $10 billion. Here’s how:
Software Re-engineering & Testing: Ensuring the fix addresses all known and unknown safety gaps.
Legal Defense & Settlements: Lawsuits related to crashes allegedly caused by Autopilot misuse could resurface.
Regulatory Penalties: Fines from safety regulators in the U.S. and abroad.
Customer Compensation: Loyalty programs, incentives, or free services to maintain goodwill.
Brand Reputation Repair: Marketing efforts to restore public trust.
Elon Musk has downplayed the issue publicly, noting that Autopilot is still statistically safer than human driving when used correctly. However, he acknowledged the need for smarter user engagement — systems that ensure drivers are not over-reliant on automation.