Brad Templeton

Waymo Overseas Human Assist Wasn’t Secret, But Is It Secure? // Waymo reveals it has only one remote assist operator per 40 vehicles. I examine the security issues around having remote ops staff, particularly overseas. : www.forbes.com/sites/bradte...

Hyundai’s ‘Motional’ Robotaxi Runs With Empty Left Seat In Las Vegas // Motional is working to graduate to a real robocar, with no full time human supervision, but they still have a supervisor in the car : buff.ly/mTz2SHb

Kevin Kelly's Best Case Scenario podcast on robocars Kevin Kelly is easily on the list of the world's best and most experienced futurists, and a friend. He's started a new podcast series to explore the most optimistic forecasts for the future, and he asked...

Kevin Kelly's Best Case Scenario podcast on robocars

Waymo Builds Fancy AI-Based Simulator Tool To Improve Robotaxi Tests // You want to test a robocar in a simulation of everything you can think of. Now Waymo has built an AI tool with Google Gemini to make that easier to do : buff.ly/ciJO9oW

Notable Self-Driving Items From CES 2026: Nuro, Mobileye, Nvidia, More // CES has become the smart car show. I summarize what was interesting from several companies. : buff.ly/mCarHKl

To Build FSD, Is Elon Musk Being Cortés And Burning His Ships? // Tesla has pushed a bold and risky strategy to do it with less hardware. Has this been an effort to force the team to make the harder path work? : buff.ly/BbMuEio

Tesla Cannonball Runs And Empty Robotaxis; The Math On Their Reality // Empty robotaxis and long drives without interventions make some imagine Tesla FSD is ready to deploy. The math may say the reverse. : buff.ly/eGWCUYd

Fewer Hotels Are Offering EV Charging Free. It May Be Tesla’s Fault // Charging at hotels is the best way to charge on road trips. Sadly, hotels are now billing a lot more to do it. : buff.ly/XbAEVSi

I Ride A Zoox Robotaxi At CES And It Goofs Up A Little. (Video Review) // A review, with video, of the new Zoox robotaxi operating in Las Vegas. The ride is good but has some flaws. Can Zoox's risky strategy win the game against Waymo, Tesla? : buff.ly/gsotLuF

Why Did Waymos Get Stuck? Was It Crazy Humans? // I don't think Waymo failed to plan for a power outage. I suspect a combination of human craziness and some Waymo mistakes made it happen : buff.ly/AJTSyxL

Waymo Did Badly In A Big Power Outage. Where Was The Simulator? // Waymo says they failed because they ran out of humans to help cars out of a jam. Why didn't simulation tell them in advance how many humans they would need? : buff.ly/CzIHNmT

Robocars 2025 In Review: Tesla v. Waymo And More // The biggest stories of the year, with no surprise, the Waymo and Tesla constrast playing a big role in the year's news. : buff.ly/Uydrwef

Tesla Deploys Robotaxis With Nobody In Them. Are They Unsupervised? // There are many clues that Tesla is using lots of remote monitoring and supervision, and possibly even remote driving, for their early tests. Optimus still does that. : buff.ly/2MQJRLp

Waymos Were Passing Stopped School Buses. Let’s Rethink School Buses. // Waymo fixed the problem, and they should definitely obey the law. But is what they did actually dangerous? And how might we redesign the school bus system in the future? : buff.ly/L9lSQcy

Waymo Offers A Peak Under Their AI Hood And Keeps Growing // We get to see a little more of how Waymo has structured their AI as they get to do the land rush alone in the USA. : buff.ly/FmD4tUg

For Most EV Charging Stations, You Want The Slowest Speed, Not Fastest // People with gasoline thinking are obsessed with duplicating the gasoline fill-up, and want fast charging. But the right answer is to be slow, matching the dwell time. : www.forbes.com/sites/bradte...

So When Do Robotaxis Come To Your Town? // Waymo just doubled the number of cities they operate with nobody in the vehicle. How do the various teams decide where to expand next, and will it be your town? : buff.ly/KwBA0NT

Tesla Finally Releases FSD Crash Data That Appears More Honest // Tesla has for years released highly misleading crash safety data for Autopilot. Now they may finally get closer to allowing apples to apples comparisons : buff.ly/U0BdHBx

Waymo Now Serves Freeways, SJC Airport, Large New Areas // Waymo will now drive freeways and cover most of the San Francisco peninsula, including SJC airport : buff.ly/RpZTabp

Waymo Gets Safety Audit, What About The Others? // Waymo seems wiling to let outsiders look at their practices and data. Where are Tesla at the others in having this important transparency? Also, what about cats? : buff.ly/WyU4TjN

Bill Gates adjusts his climate position, and exposes the greatest political error of our time

How Much Does It Matter How Much Your Robotaxi Costs To Build? // The cost of the physical robotaxi is about 25% of the COGS of operating one, so it makes a difference, but only when competition is fierce and margins are thin : buff.ly/lJsfPD8

Tesla Earnings Call Offers Self Driving Updates, Similar Predictions // Tesla is still predicting they will go unsupervised this year in Austin. Their crash numbers don't say they should : buff.ly/FeZCxKe

Study Concludes Plug-In Hybrid Cars Didn’t Deliver On Emissions. Why? // PHEVs were supposed to drive as EVs 75% of the time, they only did it 20%. Here's how regulations were poorly designed and cars didn't provide what drivers need. : www.forbes.com/sites/bradte...

The Most Important Part Of Tesla’s New Diner Charger Is In-Car Orders // Tesla's diner is mostly a gimmick, but the integration of food ordering and driving points the way to a better energy experience when outside the city : buff.ly/dmHdvAN

Ford’s Farley: “They Don’t Want Expensive EVs.” He Could Fix That // What if there's a new way to sell cars that makes the car cheaper and the energy more expensive, but always saves you money? : buff.ly/XE15pDe

Waymos Get Stuck In Phoenix Flood, How Could They Do Better? // It was no doubt scary when a flood came upon a Waymo in Phoenix last week and passengers had to walk through it to get out. Will this happen again? : buff.ly/7bxI5Mb

Tesla Robotaxi Reports 3 Crashes In Austin On July 1, Details Hidden // One of the crashes was with a static object with minor injuries and the Tesla towed away. And a 4th crash was not reported. This does not look good. : buff.ly/bST8H2X

Waymo To Test Serving SFO And Other Airports, Best Yet To Come // Robots are well behaved, and should be given the best pick-up/drop-off spots at the airport when the time comes : buff.ly/2XvcoMT

Waymo Involved, Apparently Not At Fault, In Motorcycle Fatality // The Waymo was slowing to turn right into a driveway occupied by pedestrians. A motorcycle behind it rear-ended it. Then it got much worse. : buff.ly/X2Pskhd