Post #4680182 · Elektrine

2026-09-06 03:24 UTC

Okay, look. I’m picking on this comment because it appeals to the lowest common denominator. Before I pick on it, please know: I am a progressive and have been for more than three decades. I despise fascism I hate Musk, the nazi While I’m a technology enthusiast, this autonomous bullshit is not ready for prime time, I don’t think. So with that in mind: Oh awesome. They don’t have steering or pedals so when the cloud service fails in 5 years, the entire car will be complete e-waste. First of all, these cars would not depend on “the cloud”. “The cloud” refers (or at least originally referred) to a method of storing data on servers where you don’t really care about how many servers it takes or where they are or managing them, you just get a blog of space to shove data. Even if you extend the definition of “the cloud” to include controlling these cars… that’s… really a huge stretch. And if you DO extend the definition, what you are saying at that point is “if the internet stops working” which is not going to happen. I don’t care what anyone thinks about the state of usability of social media or whatever, the internet itself is not just going to disappear. The vehicles will not magically go bad. Maybe the business might choose to destroy them if they stop the service or something like that, but that would be a stupid business-type decision, not a technical one. I just get tired of people saying things out of emotion that are just completely off-base. So I’m picking on this one as an example of what I see all day on Lemmy. And I’m sure I say shit that qualifies as such. I do try to keep an open mind. I have been persueded on subjects before - by facts from sources and such. Or just good ways of thinking about things that I didn’t know before. There’s plenty to rail against, but when we use boneheadedly wrong information to do so, it’s really much less effective. And again, I’m just using this comment as one example of things I see day in and day out. And once again I emphasize that I know I’m probably guilty of it myself - and I get called out and sometimes I agree and sometimes I don’t (sometimes someone calling me out is wrong, too - like… MSG, for a completely different topic. It’s been studied. It’s a safe ingredient. Maybe there’s EXTREMELY rare problems, but 99.999% of people who say they’re allergic definitely aren’t. It’s bullshit, and the myth was built on racism.) Anyway.

Replies (3)

@otacon239@lemmy.world 2026-09-06 03:44

All it takes is a software update for these to be bricks. If (and when) Tesla goes under, I doubt they will allow driverless cars that are no longer owned by a company. They will inevitably lock their firmware down as much as possible. It will, for all intents and purposes, just stop working the day the company stops existing. Or the new model will come out and they’ll just stop supporting them. Or any number of other cynical tactics that Tesla and companies like it have shown time and again that they are totally open to doing. How are these going to be any different than the e-waste scooters and bikes that have to be Frankensteined (Berm Peak YT link) to barely get working? And these can’t even be used as traditional cars as a fallback. They are made only to be driven by wire. Now any minor stoppage is a journey ender. Need to go around an accident and an officer is directing but your car is confused? Can’t. Need to interrupt it as it starts approaching an animal or child it doesn’t see? Can’t. Need to pursue in rough weather because someone is injured in the passenger seat? Can’t. Sure, you might say, “But you wouldn’t hire one of these vehicles in those scenarios.” But now that vehicle is destined for a short life as an upscale taxi that will never be used for anything practical. No second chance to do literally anything practical or useful. These are all things every single car up to this point has been expected to be able to do. It’s a machine at the end of the day. The new standard is to start taking those things away and finding a ways to make us pay a premium to get them back. Trust me when I say the end goal in these people’s minds is that we all sit in cars that we pay for but never get to drive. So yes, I am cynical because every one of these companies has given me nothing but reason to be cynical.

Open ##4680320
@gjoel@programming.dev 2026-09-06 06:31

“The cloud” refers (or at least originally referred) to a method of storing data on servers The cloud is more than storage. It’s also compute. It’s Web apps. It’s virtual machines. It’s all kinds of things. what you are saying at that point is “if the internet stops working” No one is saying that. Tesla is selling these cars so people can earn money selling taxa services. What happens if Tesla decides this wasn’t profitable anyway? They shut down the service that enables people to book the car. Can you still hail the cap? Can you make it drive if it’s not connected? that would be a stupid business-type decision, not a technical one. Like when Sonos decided they didn’t need to support 1st devices because they now needed to do more than they were capable of, so they just wanted to brick them (but ultimately didn’t because of massive backlash)? How long will it be in Teslas best interest to support this particular platform? What if they include a new sensor in a later model and decide that the old model isn’t relevant any longer? Will we see 1st gen cybercabs in 30 years, like we do other cars?

Open ##4681520
@diaphragmwp@discuss.tchncs.de 2026-09-06 06:56

As someone else pointed out, “Cloud” is a buzz word that also means rented compute. Pull the plug, cars die. IDK how exactly. They could get confused and attempt to ALL drive back to their parking lots I guess. Although it sounds like they will be wasted to me, still.

Open ##4681718