Ahead of Tesla’s robotaxi launch event on Thursday, a company released data suggesting that early consumer experiences with the driverless ride-hailing platform are generally positive.
On Tuesday, JD Power announced the results of its 2024 U.S. Robotaxis Experience Study. As a result, consumers ranked the driverless ride-hailing experience an average of 8.53 out of 10. The second year of the study surveyed 3,773 respondents along with 773 consumers. Robotaxi services are already available to people living in cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Dallas.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, consumer trust in robotaxis is significantly higher among those who have ridden in one of the self-driving cars before, at 76%, compared to 20% of those who have not. far exceeded. Exposure of the public to self-driving cars also increases consumer trust, with 34% of people who have never ridden in a self-driving car but have witnessed one expressing some level of trust and acceptance. did.
Notably, these results indicate that pure experience with robotaxi platforms (both riding inside the vehicle and seeing them on the street) tends to lead consumers to have greater public trust in these unmanned solutions. It suggests something. This result comes as the driverless ride-hailing market continues to grow as Tesla and other companies prepare to offer commercial robotaxis.
The study covered five categories, including comfort and convenience, trip initiation, specific vehicle rides, service availability and cost, and overall vehicle technology. Responses to this study were submitted in August.
What’s special about FSD Supervised is that it works anywhere in the United States and Canada.
There are no high-resolution maps or geofences.
This means it can be used in places Tesla has never gone before
— Tesla AI (@Tesla_AI) October 4, 2024
Key findings also include that consumers regularly demand safety features and easy access to authorities, such as emergency buttons on robotaxis. Coverage and cost remain barriers for some consumers who have not yet tried the service, and the majority of companies have adopted a strategy of mapping to specific service areas.
Kathleen Rizk, senior director of user experience benchmarking and technology at J.D. Power, said, “Given that most people are unfamiliar with robotaxis brands and have not formed clear associations with them, the robotaxis segment is still a But it’s easy to do.”
Other key findings include that consumers strongly value how well a vehicle complies with traffic laws and how well a vehicle performs when maneuvering in normal traffic. Included. Additionally, 77% of riders said they would prefer a driverless robotaxis to a rideshare with a human driver if they needed a private conversation.
The complete results of J.D. Power’s 2024 Robotaxi Experience Study can be found on the company’s website here.
Currently, driverless ride-hailing services and tests are operated by Google companies Waymo, May Mobility, Zoox, and Motional. Meanwhile, Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors (GM), was forced to suspend self-driving operations last fall due to an accident with a pedestrian, but is currently aiming to resume service by the end of this year.
Tesla offers supervised fully self-driving (FSD) to customers, but it currently doesn’t have software that consumers can use as a driverless ride-hailing system. But the company is widely expected to announce a ride-hailing service at Thursday’s “We, Robot” event, and has already teased a mobile app ride-hailing platform.
The company’s FSD Supervised, which is expected to eventually become Unsupervised as Tesla aims to make cars safer than human drivers, is one of the only self-driving software that doesn’t utilize area mapping. There is also. As such, Tesla has touted its ability to extend FSD beyond its planned service area, especially when combined with continuous training of its AI neural network through real-time driving footage.
Clearly disguised Tesla robotaxi prototype spotted at Warner Bros. Burbank
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