Tesla increasing data collection in LA and SF ahead of Robotaxi unveil

Tesla seems to be increasing data collection in certain areas of California, including near the studio where it will hold its upcoming Robotaxi unveiling, as one observer highlighted over the weekend.

On Sunday, X user and longtime Tesla sleuth greentheonly spotted increased data collection from the company near the Warner Brothers studio in Burbank, California, where it has been reported that the company will hold its Robotaxi platform unveiling event. Green has also noticed increased data collection around other areas in California, like the nearby Hollywood Diner and Supercharger construction site, and around a handful of San Francisco and larger Bay Area regions.

As an example, green shared a screenshot of the Warner Brothers studio and the increased data collection zone.

Credit: greentheonly | X

The hacker and sleuth says the data collection began around four days ago, though little is known about actual plans for the event at this point. Green also shared the source for the data collection in response to another user in the thread:

From the triggers beamed to autopilot computers.https://t.co/6MhF3PCUta

— green (@greentheonly) September 1, 2024

Tesla was initially planning to hold the Robotaxi unveiling event on August 8, and while the location wasn’t yet disclosed until a few days ago, the company elected to delay the event until October 10. Elon Musk said that he requested “an important design change to the front,” adding that the “extra time allows [Tesla] to show off a few other things.”

The upcoming Robotaxi will be based on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD), currently available in a Supervised release to anyone who purchases it. Unlike other driverless ride-hailing companies, FSD Supervised uses the data from those who drive it, regardless of where in the U.S. or Canada they’re located, in order to help train an AI neural network to make the software increasingly safe and good at driving.

As a result, Tesla has claimed that the software would be more scalable than those of competitors such as the Alphabet-owned Waymo and General Motors (GM) self-driving subsidiary Cruise—both of which are based on pre-mapped service areas.

Tesla gives first look at Robotaxi-powered ride-hailing service app

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