Posted on 01/27/2026 4:56:18 AM PST by SmokingJoe
Tesla has officially launched public Robotaxi rides in Austin, Texas, without a Safety Monitor in the vehicle, marking the first time the company has removed anyone from the vehicle other than the rider.
The Safety Monitor has been present in Tesla Robotaxis in Austin since its launch last June, maintaining safety for passengers and other vehicles, and was placed in the passenger’s seat.
Tesla planned to remove the Safety Monitor at the end of 2025, but it was not quite ready to do so. Now, in January, riders are officially reporting that they are able to hail a ride from a Model Y Robotaxi without anyone in the vehicle:
I am in a robotaxi without safety monitor pic.twitter.com/fzHu385oIb
— TSLA99T (@Tsla99T) January 22, 2026
Tesla started testing this internally late last year and had several employees show that they were riding in the vehicle without anyone else there to intervene in case of an emergency.
Tesla has now expanded that program to the public. It is not active in the entire fleet, but there are a “few unsupervised vehicles mixed in with the broader robotaxi fleet with safety monitors,” Ashok Elluswamy said:
Robotaxi rides without any safety monitors are now publicly available in Austin.
Because the Cybercab is not selling yet, dummy But in real life tests on roads in Austin, its performing great.
EVs were supposed to be “cheaper” too! They are by far more expensive.
NEWS: U.S. insurer Lemonade has announced that it will offer a 50% rate cut for drivers of @Tesla vehicles when FSD is steering because it had data showing it reduced accidents.
“A car that sees 360 degrees, never gets drowsy, and reacts in milliseconds can't be compared to a human. Beyond the product announcement today, we're also announcing our commitment to the Tesla community – the safer FSD software becomes, the more our prices will drop,” said Shai Wininger, co-founder and president at Lemonade.
**Driverless will also cost far more. As an engineer I also know system failures will be FAR higher than anyone anticipates.**
I don’t think so. Maintenance will be scheduled, not as needed. System failures-there are too many free market answers yet to be invented. Think of when Steve Jobs said something to the effect of 64 mbs of memory would only be necessary. Plastic surgery-it’s gotten better and cheaper while government involved health care gets more expensive. Both involve docs who go to the same medical schools.
Free?
Someone's paying for it, even if it ends up being U.S. taxpayers.
“yet to be invented. “
See my post on the promises of flying cars.
Approximately 88% to 90% of Norway's total electric power is generated from hydropower, making it the backbone of the country's electricity system. Nearly 100% of Norway's electricity production comes from renewable sources, including hydropower and a growing share of wind power.
Plus
Norway generates immense revenue from oil and natural gas exports, with total export values reaching approximately NOK 1,100 billion (approx. $100+ billion USD) in 2024, representing about 61% of the country's total goods exports. The state's net cash flow from petroleum activities—driven by taxes and direct ownership—was projected to be 655.8 billion NOK in 2025, down from record highs in 2022.
And they have a population of less than 6 million.
Maybe America could be seeking a tide over from them.
Chuckle.
The cost of running anything is as much part of the cost as the cost of buying it.
Why do you think old factories, machinery etc are often abandoned for newer more efficient less costly to run ones?
Must’ve been programmed by an Indian.
88% to 90% of Norway's electric power come from hydro electric power, from dams that were built decades ago.
The oil/gas Norway produces are mostly exported giving them vast amounts of money every year most of which goes into their Sovereign fund which is the richest Sovereign funds on the planet (or used to be)
“If you think lousy drivers are a hazard now, just wait until these systems fail.”
They already have:
https://carbuzz.com/waymo-pays-door-closers/
Yeah, I'm ignorant. Norway is one of the countries sucking up U.S. taxpayer money via USAID and NATO. Their NATO spending per capita is 2/3 of what the U.S. spends.
https://info3.com/europe/218079/text/short/norway-unblocks-29-mn-for-ngos-hit-by-us-aid-freeze
https://www.norad.no/en/news/news/2025/the-usa-as-an-aid-donor--facts-and-figures/
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2025/02/norwegian-refugee-council-halts-aid-over-20-countries-after-usaid-cuts
Norway EV registrations are dropping this January, now that the tax breaks are ending. It's all fun when someone else is paying the bill.
https://www.evshift.com/389332/norway-ev-registrations-set-to-plunge-in-january-after-tax-changes-take-effect/
Norway is rapidly increasing its defense spending, with projections for 2025 indicating that total defense-related expenditures will reach roughly 3.35% to 3.5% of its GDP, with plans to increase this to 5% over the next decade. This surpasses the NATO benchmark of 2%, which Norway met in 2024, driven by security concerns and increased support for Ukraine.
Norway is spending bigger percentage of GDP on NATO than most European countries.
And it’s going even higher.
If you don’t have the large price tag up front, it matters little how much you “save”. Corporate expenditures are different because of depreciation, etc. Many buy new heavy machinery, many do not. The time value of money also has to be taken into consideration.
Auto operating expenses also vary greatly, and needs are different. In my case, I typically buy old cars and keep them in shape. My personal car right now is a 2004 Chevy Venture. It coat me $3,700 with 165,000 miles. I have had it for three years and 40,000 miles. I have put nearrly $5k into repairs, $5k in gasoline, and $500 in maintenance for $9,200. The only EV minivan I know of is the VW id.buzz. It is $50,000 new, unavailaable used. It would take me an awfully long time to make up the $35,000 difference. Tires cost more. Electricity is cheaper, but not zero.
In any event EVs cost more money upfront for the same car in the same class.
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