Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Now Testing in Las Vegas Tunnels
▼ Summary
– The Boring Company is testing Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system in its Las Vegas tunnels, as reported by Fortune.
– Testing has been ongoing for months with safety drivers present, but widespread implementation is not yet imminent.
– The tunnels have operated for about four years and currently serve a limited area around the Convention Center, with expansion plans in place.
– Despite Tesla’s robotaxi services elsewhere and Musk’s praise, safety drivers still need to intervene periodically during tests.
– The system faces challenges from the tunnels’ lighting and rock walls, which sometimes cause difficulties for the vehicles.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) technology is currently undergoing testing within the Las Vegas tunnel system operated by The Boring Company. This marks a significant step in the real-world application of the automaker’s advanced driver assistance system in a controlled, yet complex, underground environment.
According to recent reports, testing has been underway for several months using Tesla vehicles equipped with the software, though a safety driver remains present in each car during these trials. Steve Hill, who leads the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, indicated that while progress is being made, broader implementation of fully autonomous travel through the tunnels is still some time away.
The existing tunnel network has been operational for approximately four years, primarily serving the area in and around the Las Vegas Convention Center. Although expansion plans for the system have been discussed, current operations remain limited to this core zone.
Despite recent limited launches of Tesla’s robotaxi service in select cities and optimistic statements from company leadership regarding the maturity of the self-driving software, human intervention is still required during testing. Safety drivers have needed to periodically assume control, particularly when the vehicles encounter challenging sections of the tunnel.
The underground pathways, with their distinctive colored lighting and unfinished rock surfaces, present unique visual and navigational obstacles. These conditions have at times proven difficult for the autonomous system to interpret, especially during passenger loading and unloading at station stops. Still, the relatively straightforward layout of the tunnels offers a promising environment for further refining Tesla’s self-driving capabilities.
(Source: TechCrunch)
