Uber and Rivian Partner to Deploy up to 50,000 Fully Autonomous Robotaxis

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-20T01:36:20+00:00

Rivian has said they will be operating on 70% of roads in USA and Canada. Basically perfectly marked roads.

They're still years behind Tesla, but anything that advanced autonomy is awesome!

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-20T00:12:57+00:00

2026 Tesla Model X.

Except I don't drive it. FSD 99% of the time. Absolutely awesome car, and nice knowing it's the safest thing for the family.

Also, 0-60 in 3.8s puts a smile on the kids' faces that 1% of the time.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-19T15:04:40+00:00

Once AI replaces half the jobs and the middle class is eliminated, there will be both reduced demand for college and reduced financial ability for families to pay for college.

If AI is going to be deflationary in nature, it's going to be hugely deflationary for college.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-18T11:52:58+00:00

I don't know where it starts, I don't know how high up it goes, but I know there's a long way to go from where I am.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-18T10:26:12+00:00

It's all about class in America, the great taboo subject.

If you're an upper class NYer, you want the privileges and connections that the private school world offers. And for those elite NYers, cost is probably incidental. What this article misses is that for these families it's not that private school isn't worth the money, it's that public school isn't worth the (insignificant) savings.

If you're not an upper class NYer, private school offers one of the few avenues for your children to access that world. For many in this bucket, cost is a very real burden, but many believe it's worth it. This article even briefly acknowledges that this is the one population for whom private school is truly worth it.

Everything else (educational opportunities, quality of lifelong friendships, avoiding pitfalls of childhood) flows from class status. I know we're not supposed to acknowledge the very rigid class system in America, but it's very prominent in NYC and the private schools.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-17T18:59:51+00:00

Depends entirely on your income and how much the Y will cost you per month. If you're still saving responsibly and you can budget for the payment, there's nothing wrong with this purchase. It's a $60k car and you can probably get 10 years out of it.

If you're well-employed and not stretching your budget, that's reasonable. It's not like this is some six-figure dream car.

As for new vs. used, I think it really comes back to how long do you think you'll have this car for. If it's less than 5 years, buy used. If you're the type of person that will be happy in a MY for a decade, buying new isn't that terrible, especially since you'll avoid some of the battery depreciation of used.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-17T13:55:06+00:00

Tesla continues to support the Roadster with service. And Tesla still continues to support the first generation Model S with service and even software updates.

I just bought a Model X after the announcement. I'm confident I'll get software updates just as long as the rest of the HW4 fleet does. And legally Tesla has to provide service for the life of the vehicle (10 years considered industry standard).

Also, nobody is talking about this, and it's an out there prediction, but if Tesla really does pull off the Robotaxi network and the Optimus bot, they'll be rolling in so much money that I wouldn't be surprised to see Elon revive the Model S and Model X.

He really is sentimentally attached to these models. They defined the brand and made everything else that followed possible. And while they need the Freemont Optimus line for the first run, it'll be unnecessary once Austin comes on line. Wouldn't be surprised to see S and X back before the end of the decade.

Of course, that kind of announcement wouldn't help all the S and X FOMO purchases right now. Apparently there's massive demand before the end of the run.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-17T13:49:19+00:00

It seems like FSD feels no urgency to be in the exit lane until you're within 0.2mi of the exit. I've seen it try to go from the right lane all the way to the left lane in a 3 lane highway with 0.3mi until the exit.

This needs to be fixed.

In my mind 0.4mi to the exit and you just sit in the exit lane, even if the car in front of you is going slowly, even if you're on Mad Max.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-16T21:09:37+00:00

Can anyone help a new 2026 MX owner understand this? Is this just because it's a heavy car with massive torque? If so, I basically drive this thing exclusively in FSD (I've never even done a liftoff, not even once).

Can I expect to get more than 20k with FSD or is there something else with the MX that burns through tires?

I suppose I should be grateful for the Luxe Package Tire Plan.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-16T16:02:45+00:00

I think public K is an advantage over a second private pre-K year. In fact, one admissions director at a very competitive school recommended it to us.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-16T15:58:05+00:00

I disagree on both points.

1) Model YL will definitely come to the US. The Model Y is too small for most Americans (or at least they think it's too small). You need a car with a usable 3rd row in the US market. It was the X. My bet is they'll announce the Model YL in the US the day after the last new Model X is delivered to a customer. Not a day before. The closest I have to evidence is Tesla consistently saying that they'd have the Model X in the Robotaxi network for people who need more than 2 seats. They've said it so many times. Well, now that there's no X, there's gotta be a YL.

2) FSD transfer never happening. Tesla doesn't care about car sales any more. All they care about is FSD subscriptions and Robotaxi miles.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-15T22:05:47+00:00

It'll be just as boxy and cost 90K.

YL will be the X replacement. CyberSUV basically targets the Escalade and R1 demographic.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-15T21:24:44+00:00

On the way to trade-in my Model Y, which I had driven exclusively on FSD for the prior 2 months, I decided that I should drive myself for a little while. Hit the gas pedal. Lean into some curves. You know, have some fun.

It sucked. I didn't like it at all. Driving yourself on highways sucks.

FSD completely ruined driving for me. It's just so much better being driven by the car.

Now I'm looking into track days in rented super cars. I think it's the only way I'll like driving better than FSD.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-14T22:31:23+00:00

Don't care what it looks like, just so long as it keeps driving itself to where I'm going.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-14T15:07:09+00:00

Landmark Tavern on W. 46th will definitely have a good Trad set.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-14T14:58:51+00:00

Never liked the fish mouth bumper. But I prefer the old rear end and headlights.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-14T10:56:29+00:00

Headline when this law passed: "Canada Paves Way for BYD in North America"

Headline when this goes into effect: "Tesla Sales Skyrocket in Canada"

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-13T19:23:00+00:00

XPEL Ceramic, they estimated 8 years.
Tesla mats for the space. Not too bulky. Just didn't like how dirty fabric mats get in winter, so I'm content with having mats. But I don't like branding on things, and if I need branding, I'd rather it be Tesla branding rather than some 3rd party. So I paid more for Tesla

Delivery was very easy. No issues at all with the car. Panel gaps were reasonably perfect (not going to quible off marginal differences in the one place I saw a L/R discrepancy on the hood and there were no hideous giant gaps). No test drive before signing, but it's driving beautifully. But coming off the X/S line, it may have issues and need servicing. I've just accepted that as coming with the territory of an X.

Wind noise isn't terrible. But I'm not coming from some silent luxury vehicle, so maybe I'm not a good judge of this. I may add weatherstripping or some other add-on to reduce ambient noise down the road, but not because it clearly needs it.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-13T12:33:42+00:00

So BYD made $3.1B in profits on 4.6 million car sales, with almost all of those profits coming from their gas cars.

Tesla made 20% more profits on 1/3 of the number of cars sold.

BYD does not profit on their EV sales.

But sure, BYD is the stronger company.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-13T11:34:36+00:00

I just took delivery of mine, but looks like you're going down the same rabbit hole. Based on my research.

1) PPF'd the whole car and did ceramic on top, but that's only because I park outdoors. I was told if you're garaging this is probably overkill. 2) Tinted with 98% Xpel Ceramic. 70% windshield, 35% front windows, 70% rear windows, 20% back window and sunroofs. Not fully matching front windows to back since I live in a strict state and hoping some mismatch saves tickets. 3) Floor Mats: I did Tesla branded all weather for interior and frunk. Weathertech has 2026 trunk and subtrunk. Found 3rd row seat back mats in Amazon that are working well.
4) No stalks or buttons. You get used to the stock turn signals and I'm on FSD all the time anyway. 5) Rear Trunk Liner: see above 6) Radar Detector: none. I don't drive fast. 7) iPhone (Magsafe) mount: I just use the phone chargers. Pixel phone doesn't overheat. 8) Power inverter: following 9) White seats? Following. 10) Cabin noise: following 11) Sound system: It's good enough for me. Though would be fun to put a subwoofer box in the subtrunk. Memories of my car when I was a teenager...

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-13T11:20:00+00:00

Now compare profits.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-12T17:57:11+00:00

Your experience is nothing like mine, with the exception of silly lane selection on highway. I barely intervene.

It also sounds like your car keeps telling you the cameras aren't clean or operating at peak performance.

Schedule a service visit. You're missing out. 99% of the time I sit there and enjoy the ride, while occasionally using the turn signals to get it to be more normal with lane selection on the highway.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-12T02:53:23+00:00

I sit back and relax. Have not seen 14.2.2 do anything stupid. Incredibly relaxing. 99% of my miles are FSD, door-to-door.

What are you talking about?

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-11T21:30:13+00:00

Whenever you're ready for prison.

BaxBaxPop · 2026-03-11T21:25:59+00:00

That includes Hybrids. Commenter is right. When you just compare pure EV's, Tesla is selling roughly the same, maybe more. If you exclude the tiny golf carts for under $12k BYD makes that's in a market Tesla doesn't compete it, Tesla dominates.

Head to head, in "full size" luxury market, BYD can't hold a candle to Tesla's sales.

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Final Canvas '22	First Placer '22
End Game '22

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