Toronto, Ontario — In this week’s report, Tesla says Full Self Driving (FSD) will remain uncertified by the NHTSA for the foreseeable future, Lyft says that autonomous vehicles won’t replace humans for the distant future, and a think tank critiques OEMs for failing to meet sustainability targets. This is the latest in electric and autonomous vehicles.
Certification Setback
Tesla will not receive regulatory approval for its FSD program this year, according to a Reuters article published Thursday.
Specifically, the driving assistance program is unlikely to receive National Highway Traffic Safety Administration certification as a regulatory-approved autonomous vehicle.
This follows increasing scrutiny against Tesla, with American and European lawmakers claiming that the company’s misleading advertising claims and software name can mislead customers into believing that FSD-equipped vehicles are fully self-driving vehicles.
This misunderstanding may lead to driver negligence, with the NHTSA directly linking Tesla’s autopilot to ten deaths between May and September.
Human in the Loop
Lyft vehicles will be driven by humans for the foreseeable future, with Lyft co-founder, John Zimmer, saying that the company’s autonomous vehicles are not ready for large scale commercial use.
Speaking to an audience at the TechCrunch Disrupt tech conference, Zimmer said that autonomous vehicles may handle up to 10 percent of rides—but only at the maximum.
He explains that currently, autonomous vehicles are unable to handle every single condition encountered on roads. These exceptions can be mitigated with a hybrid network of autonomous vehicles connected to Lyft, but will require human drivers and human attention until the technology evolves.
No Green, No Problem
Automakers are struggling to get on track to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, according to a recent report.
In a report by the Capgemini Research Institute academic think tank, investment in sustainability initiatives has fallen to less than one percent in 2022, compared to 1.22 percent in 2019.
At current investment levels, greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 will be reduced by 24 percent—a far cry from the current goal to achieve a 45 percent reduction.
These reductions have been accomplished thanks to the less than 10 percent of companies in the industry actively working towards sustainability strategies, but also means that more than 90 percent of companies that are failing to make the necessary adaptations.
The goal of the United Nations 2050 Paris Agreement is to reduce global warming to pre-industrial levels, preventing extreme climate changes that could result in unpleasant to unlivable living conditions around the world.
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