Driving through a single-lane tunnel seems easy. But the autopilot of Elon Musk’s Tesla fails at the Las Vegas Loop.
The cover image is a symbolic image.
The Tesla autopilots can’t drive through tunnels? Teslas can certainly drive through most conventional tunnels thanks to their autonomous driving systems. However, according to a report by the Review Journal of Las Vegas, some special tunnels are causing problems. Ironically, these are being drilled specifically for them by another company owned by Elon Musk. It is the so-called Las Vegas Loop.
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Uncertain future for autopilots in the Las Vegas Loop
What is the Las Vegas Loop? This is a tunnel system under Las Vegas that has only been partially implemented and is currently being expanded. It is being drilled by Elon Musk’s Boring Company and Musk is promoting it as an alternative transport system for the future. In simple terms: a swarm of AI miniature subways with wheels instead of rails.
It consists of tunnels that connect stops. Teslas are used as vehicles. At the moment they are still controlled manually by people. So far only a few stops and a few kilometers of network have been completed. But once construction work is completed, autonomous Tesla traffic is supposed to run on more than 50 kilometers between dozens of stops.
You can get a more detailed insight into the tunnel system under Las Vegas from our colleagues at Tagesschau or Auto Motor Sport.
Why don’t Teslas drive themselves yet? The exact reasons remain unclear, but it seems that Teslas are currently having problems guaranteeing safe traffic at all times. For example, the cars do not always recognize the bus stop or people in the underground complex, as Tagesschau reports.
According to Steve Hill, President and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the plan is to have the first phases of autonomous driving implemented by the end of 2024. What exactly that means in practice remains unclear. According to the American colleagues, there is still no timetable for putting a truly fully automated system into operation.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk is not only struggling with problems at Tesla and his drilling company. X, formerly Twitter, is in particular repeatedly making negative headlines. The billionaire has to deal with numerous lawsuits there: Elon Musk’s X is not paying the 120 million US dollars for his IT servers – that is the current lawsuit and it is just one of many