Self-Driving EVs Still Suck at Basic Tasks After $100 Billion and 10 Years of Promises

👤Elon Musk recently predicted that “self-driving will encompass all modes of driving by the end of the next year.” Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?

The only problem is that by “recently,” I mean March 11, 2018.

Musk was essentially predicting what would happen over what was then the next 21 months or so. It’s now been about 54 months, and if we’re any nearer to a revolution in self-driving automobiles, it’s being hidden pretty darn well.

At the time, Musk was touting “Autopilot 2.0” software that he predicted would be “2 to 3 times” more safe than you and me — you know, human drivers — behind the wheel, according to an industry report on the South by Southwest conference published by Electrek, which covers the electric transportation and sustainable energy beat.

I should point out that Electrek has been criticized in the past for its overly positive coverage of electric vehicles in general — and Tesla in particular — so it’s possible that the outlet put as positive a spin as it could find on those 2018 comments from Musk. But 54 months is 54 months, no matter what spin you’re in.

Last year, management consultants McKinsey & Company calculated that $106 billion had been spent over the previous 10 years on the development of “autonomous Technology