I didn’t mean that as a pimp at you so much as expressing a pet peeve about crappy popular terminology. Sorry if that sounded poorly to you.
From one pedant to another, I appreciated it
One of my friends with a Tesla had tons of trouble with the gps. It often put her 20 feet to the east of where she actually was. (Or something along those lines) Which led to a lot of bad consequences.
I haven’t used Tesla FSD since it was last free many months ago. It is free again and I gave it another shot. I used to get frustrated at it…a lot. I figured my issues were because I live in a very non-metro area (fairly rural) and it didn’t have enough data so it would do things like continue going 60MPH when the 2-lane highway enters a town, being far too hesitant at odd intersections, etc. On our trip to go hiking over the weekend it did SO MUCH BETTER! I didn’t have any interventions because of it doing stupid shit over about 3 hours of driving.
Rivian announces hands-free driving! Some minor caveats are described:
Owners will still have to supervise the driving system and, crucially, it “will not stop or slow down for traffic lights or stop signs.” Universal Hands-Free will also not make turns or follow navigation.
So… The same lane following on highways that lots of cars have now?
That’s my reaction. My 2022 does that already. And does an adequate job of it.
But it’s hands-free!
Yeah. Very strange announcement.
If they mean there’s no need to diddle the steering wheel to “prove” you’re paying attention that might be a difference worth touting. But I doubt it.
Tesla has been completely hands free for over a year. It will only nag you if the inside camera detects that you aren’t paying attention.
Yep, that was my experience. No “diddling” of the steering wheel required. 
Sorry; I didn’t write everything I was thinking.
For sure Tesla hasn’t needed steering wheel diddling for awhile. Hooray for that.
AFAIK / IME everybody else still does. And if Rivian is introducing just plain ordinary lane-keeping and car-ahead following like e.g. KIA has had for years, that’s hardly evidence of cutting edge tech that they should be touting as anything special.
A possible exception to the “Ho hum, so ordinary” reaction is if they’ve eliminated the wheel diddling as an attention check. Absent that I can’t see they’ve done anything except bring their car up to about 2020 ordinary car optional equipment.
GM’s Supercruise needs eyes forward but no steering wheel diddling. Works quite well on the (few) mapped roads in MT. Changes lanes to pass automatically.
That is definitely a step up from what I knew about. And if Rivian has those features, including widespread detailed mapping and map-aware tactical navigation, that’s a big step up from mere lane-keeping and car-following.
Waymo pays workers $22 to close doors on stranded robotaxis - The Washington Post
Because riders and passersby can be unreliable, Waymo pays workers in Los Angeles $20 or more for rescuing a robotaxi by closing a door, summoning help through an app called Honk that is like an Uber for towing companies.
The road robots have servants already!
Heck, if I lived where Waymos operated and I saw one with an open door, I’d sure close it for $20. And I’d be faster response than any app. Just wave my phone at the car so it knows who to pay.
The future will be a weird place. It already is.
Motor Trend, previously a harsh critic of Tesla FSD, is so impressed with v14 that they’ve named it best ADAS of the year. Last year’s award went to GM
If wishes were horses…
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/13/business/tesla-robotaxi-musk-2026
Moderating:
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I’m not sure why the preview is not working for CNN, but please check such.
Righto.
Musk still seems to be overpromising and underdelivering when it comes to Tesla robotaxis.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/13/business/tesla-robotaxi-musk-2026