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Waymo Pokes Tesla on Twitter, Makes Fun of Common Autopilot Mistake

Autonomous driving tech companies are pretty fed up with Tesla’s attitude. Testing with regular customers and promising them autonomy is something they seem to have taken for way too much time before being more vocal about it. Waymo was not as open about that in a recent tweet, but it did not miss the chance to make fun of Tesla’s Autopilot.
Waymo Pokes Autopilot for Confusing Full Moon for Yellow Traffic Light 23 photos
Photo: Twitter
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One of the most discussed flaws of this ADAS (advanced driver-assistance system) was when Autopilot confused a full moon for a yellow traffic light. Tweets shared on July 23, 2021, show what happened to the beta software in videos. You can check them embedded right below.

Waymo did not mention that at the time, but it did not forget about the mistake. With more scrutiny about how Tesla tests its beta software, it said that “good hardware leads to better data and faster processing, enabling smarter software.” That’s a direct punch at Tesla’s decision to solely use cameras to make its cars autonomous.

Musk and Tesla repeatedly said their cars already had all the hardware they would need to drive by themselves. Yet, they kept developing new hardware to finally deliver on their promises. That has not happened so far.

A little further ahead, Waymo states that it is leveraging its custom-built sensors to help WaymoDriver “reason about the world, so it doesn’t accidentally classify say the moon for a traffic light.” Ouch...

Apart from the danger these rogue Tesla cars on the roads may represent to people with the bad luck to be around them, Waymo must also be concerned with the implications Tesla’s approach may have to everyone trying to seriously and safely develop autonomous driving.

If the governments decide that companies are pushing it too far in terms of traffic safety, they may impose more restrictions to make developing the tech more expensive, more complex, or both.

Safety experts have been asking NHTSA to stop Tesla from deploying beta software to untrained drivers to test it. Missy Cummings even received death threats after she was nominated a senior safety adviser to the safety agency. Waymo decided to try to revert the situation with humor. That’s certainly worth trying. If it doesn’t work, at least we got a good laugh with the subtle and demolishing jabbing.





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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
Gustavo Henrique Ruffo profile photo

Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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