Comment by criley2 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by criley2 | Hacker News Reader

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>SpaceX wants to go to Mars. Why haven't they yet? Do you consider them uninnovative?

The proper analogy is "SpaceX wants to go to Mars, and is pushing aggressively to do so" while a "Competitor sees SpaceX's cost cutting for LEO, and is aggressively copying that feature while completlely ignoring Mars"

In this case, Tesla is shooting for Mars (Complete autonomy in all situations) and is rolling out each phase.

GM, on the other hand, noticed that Tesla's phase 1 autonomy was marketable, so they copy pasted a profitable feature without copying the overall goal of getting to mars (of making an autonomous car).

Every single GE car with this feature will have THIS feature and nothing else.

Every single new Tesla will have todays features, AND tomorrows features, through software updates, because Tesla is attempting to achieve FAR FAR MORE than GM, and is willing to backport those enhancements.

Today GM looks better. In five years, it might look archaic.

Nope, GM has already self-driving cars on the street here in San Francisco. Remember they own Cruise.

So, GM has decided to go to Mars as Tesla did. It has acquired the tech to go to Mars and started testing it. In the meanwhile realized it could copy a page from Tesla's book and put some semi-autonomous vehicle on the road. And, according to this article, did an excellent job.

I'm no way a GM fanboy (do they even exists), but could we be fair?

Can confirm: I see Cruise vehicles virtually every day in SF.

"I'm no way a GM fanboy (do they even exists), but could we be fair?"

You didn't even read my post, and you want to talk about fair?

I very clearly state that Tesla is updating new features into cars, while GM is not.

That Tesla gets phase 1, phase 2, and beyond, while GM merely labels phase 1 by a marketing name and will never update it ever.

There is a massive chasm here between buying a car today that will "may take you to mars", and buying a car today that "will absolutely, never, ever, ever be capable of going to mars".

So let's be fair.

So let's be fair.

GM has a Level 2, maybe Level 3, self-driving platform in its current generation of self-driving cars. It's not claiming that current cards will be able to achieve Level 4 or 5 self-driving functionality. But it is expecting that future generations of their cars will, especially once low-cost LIDARs are incorporated into their platform.

Tesla has, being charitable, a Level 1 self-driving platform. Current Tesla cars don't have the sensors or processing power to handle the demands necessary for Level 3 self-driving, let alone Level 5 (i.e., truly autonomous functionality). Hell, Tesla's current hardware platform does't even have the same level of functionality as their original self-driving hardware (using MobiEye), which was just glorified lane-keeping and self-parking, i.e., Level 1 self-driving.

Tesla is playing a dangerous marketing game and deserves to be called on their bullshit.

I read your comment. And I stand my point.

Even being very very friendly and interpreting your comment in the way you clarified it, there is an assumption in your comment. The assumption is that Tesla will be able to bring their car to Level 5, full autonomy, while GM will not be able to that. And let me ask you why you say so? Just because Tesla, in a marketing move, tells you they will be able to do that, and GM is not doing that? Maybe GM has a legal department that warned them not to do that?

To paraphrase your point, no there's no difference between a car that, according to their marketing "will maybe be able to go to mars" and a car that "has the hardware that could be maybe able to go to mars, but we prefer to tell you now because we could be liable if we fail". I understand the value of aspirational statements, but still...

Can you point to 1 time a GM vehicle was substantially enhanced through a software update?

If so, your point has merit.

If not, you are hiding behind hypotheticals in a very dishonest way.

I have NEVER heard of GM upgrading existing vehicles with significant new functionality through a FREE software update.

If that is the truth, that they have never done it, never announced it, and yet you come here and suggest that they are in fact doing something that they are not, that is supremely dishonest.

I researched GM for half an hour to find evidence that you are not being dishonest. That you are not hiding behind some really bad hypothetical.

But I found nothing to exonerate your position from the realm of "fantastical hypothetical rendered dishonestly", so I hope you can respond and help me.

Software updates won't add lidar to the cars. Sure, the ability to update software easily is an advantage for Tesla, but they're ultimately just as limited by the hardware on the car as GM is. If it turns out the current hardware isn't good enough to do what Tesla wants, todays cars are going to look just as dated in 5 years as GM's.

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