So Musk didn't just say that 'no safety operator intervened', he said there was no one in the car, and no one controlling it from a distance. They probably did have someone watching what is was doing, and the whole thing was recorded, but it is hard to argue that this wasn't just what it was claimed to be, a bona fide self-delivery.

Those are identical statements right?


Actually, no. There is a difference between "no safety operator intervened" and "there was no safety operator". The latter would show a lot more confidence in the service.

But the more important point is that such confidence looks like it is probably misplaced. The fact that after just a few recorded robotaxi rides in Austin, under perfect conditions, there were some pretty major obvious driving mistakes, indicates to me that they are still a long way from letting cars drive safely without human drivers, and it makes me wonder why they are pushing ahead with robotaxis OR self-delivery. The robotaxi rides make it clear that they are not ready yet, and self-delivery is just as dangerous for the other road users as a robotaxi. So it is hard to see why they wouldn't need a human operator, whether in the car or remotely, for both robotaxis and for self-deliveries.

Maybe the company is desperate for some good news, but if it's not ready, it's not ready, and rolling these things out when it's not ready will get them in the news all right, but not the way they want.

dtb