Marc Hoag AI Law Pod (formerly Autonomous Cars with Marc Hoag)

So I finally got it. I finally got the (in)famous Tesla Full Self-Driving beta, otherwise known as FSD beta, v10.3.1 to be precise. This is my personal account of testing across three different days in New England, about 40 minutes north of Boston. Day One was a biblical, torrential rain; but days Two and Three were pristinely beautiful and sunny. All three days left me with the same conclusion. 

FYI: I'm putting together a video of my FSD beta test; it should be available on my YouTube channel at YouTube.com/AutonomousCarsWithMarcHoag. 

Today, I discuss the potential legal issue surrounding Tesla's FSD, specifically, whether it can -- or can't -- be transferred to a future Tesla vehicle, especially considering that none of us have received the very thing we paid for.

Today: Pouria Paknejad, More on Tesla FSD Beta, etc.

In today’s third installment in the ongoing discussion on Tesla’s imminent, infamous FSD beta deployment, I’m joined by Motiv Mobility advisor, fellow attorney, all-around tech and automotive nerd and guru, and dear friend, Pouria Paknejad, as we thoroughly discuss, dissect, debate, and devour all there is surrounding this polarizing experiment by Team Elon and Co.

Have a listen, and be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen; and don’t forget to follow me on all social media @AutonomousHoag and on YouTube, too.

Today: Tesla’s FSD Beta request deployment

So picking up where we left off last time, I unpack the five metrics Tesla is using to calculate your “Safety Score” to determine whether you’re lucky enough to get access to Tesla’s Full Self Driving beta. I also dive into a few questions and concerns, and try to cover as much as ground as possible.

Have a listen, and be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen; and don’t forget to follow me on all social media @AutonomousHoag and on YouTube, too.

Today: Tesla’s FSD Beta request deployment!

Tesla’s (supposedly) about to finally deploy its infamous Tesla FSD Beta to a wider audience… sort of. Tonight. Maybe. And it’s not really a full deployment, rather it’s a “Request” button which will enable those of us, like yours truly, who already purchased FSD, to — you guessed it — to “request” FSD Beta.

After requesting, Tesla’s insurance system will analyze your last seven consecutive days of driving to determine whether you “qualify” for FSD Beta.

I unpack the ins and outs of what this all means, whether it’s fair — or even legal — and the big elephant in the room question, whether this is a smart thing to do, not to mention, whether it’s safe.

Have a listen, and be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen; and don’t forget to follow me on all social media @AutonomousHoag and on YouTube, too.

Today: VW’s impressive AV plans, Germany’s AV regulation, and Tesla’s FSD beta v9. All this... right now.

VW’s AV plans

VW has pivoted from being the leader is diesel fuel, to a potential leader in the EV space; and now it’s doing the same with its AV initiatives with everything from a software platform to its co-ownership with Ford of Argo.ai.

Germany’s AV legislation

Germany seems poised to pass legislation allowing for driverless Level 4 autonomous vehicle driving on its roads come 2022, provided certain rules are adhered to, including and especially the use of remote backup drivers and assumption of all liability by the operators.

Tesla FSD beta 9

Tesla FSD beta 9 is here and I … discuss it. A bit. Sort of.

Today: 7/11 installs EV charging stations; Cruise starts driverless passenger rides; Volvo announces a Lidar-equipped Level 4 XC90 for 2022. All this... right now. 

7/11 chargers

They're not quite Super Gulp Slurpies -- or whatever 7/11 calls its diabetes-inducing ambrosia these days -- but 7/11 is indeed moving forward with a plan to install some 500 chargers at their various stores across the US. This is a pretty great idea if only to entice folks to stop and buy up more junk food from their stores, except for one problem: the chargers are likely supplied by ChargePoint, which means fairly meager speeds; and considering the average stop at a 7/11 is perhaps five minutes or so, the actual value to an EV owner is next to none, so I'm not sure how this is going to play out for 7/11 down the road.

Cruise starts driverless passenger rides

Cruise has finally received the appropriate permits to start passenger rides with its driverless test vehicles, but crucially, the rides cannot yet be for revenue service until their receive yet additional permits. In contrast, for instance, Nuro is able to do for-revenue deliveries with its little delivery bots, but this is because they're transporting packages and food, not human passengers. Still, this is a great and exciting next step for Cruise.

Volvo's L4 Lidar-equipped 2022 XC90

I've been a fan of Volvo and its impressive Vision2020 mission to eliminate human death or serious injury in all Volvo vehicles, not to mention Volvo's push towards an electric, autonomous future; the next-gen XC90 aims to be their first big step in this direction. The 2022 XC90 SUV will come with Lidar as standard -- a first in the industry, and a really big deal -- and be capable of Level 4 autonomous driving on highways (regulation permitting, and with a software update to activate).

1. Cruise in Dubai: Cruise becomes the exclusive partner to launch a robotaxi service in Dubai from 2023 to 2030, with the aim of getting 4000 Cruise Origins on Dubai's roads.

2. Tesla's vision-only FSD v9.0: Elon announces that a soon-to-be-released version of Full Self Driving beta, v9.0, will be "vision-only," meaning no radar, and of course, still no lidar, i.e., it will be camera-based only.

3. Mercedes EQS: The new electric S-Klasse, the EQS, is a technological and aesthetic marvel, but it falls short on offering any truly revolutionary semi-autonomous driving technology.

Today:

1. The conclusion for Xpeng's cross-China AV trek

2. The auto insurance industry in an autonomous future 

3. A huge AV simulation testing service 

Today:

1. Xpeng starts a six day autonomous trek across China

2. BMW's larger, curvier iDrive suggests revolutionary AV capabilities 

3. Cruise does indeed acquire Voyage, but I'm not entirely pleased with the implications

All this... right now.