The Unforeseen Positives of Tesla Self-Driving Cars

Tesla is quickly rolling out self-driving electric cars with software that is twice as safe as a human driver. They have more eyes than a human, better reaction time, and can continue to become safer by learning from all other Teslas on the road. For how much more advanced the computers on a Tesla are, they are planning on developing the next generation system to be three times better than what is already twice as safe as humans.

While most people would look at self-driving cars and imagine sitting in the driver's seat while the car drove itself, that reality is limited. The impact of self-driving cars will be felt in ways many do not consider.

Obsolete Cops

Police sitting on the side of the road, or on a highway, are primarily looking for cars speeding, breaking other traffic laws, and generally being unsafe. But what happens when the car is driving itself, and is far safer than a human?

This leads to an obsoletion of police in this respect. A couple times a year, I see an article about some small town disbanding its police force. While ticket quotas are illegal, these police still do it. Then it becomes less about keeping the public safe on the road, and more about revenue generation for government. This is apparent given they will more likely to pull you over for speeding when tailgating is more dangerous.

If the police can no longer generate money for the government, you may see many more smaller towns disband their police force. There would no longer be a need for them in terms of cars breaking the law on the road. Laws themselves may have to be redefined if the currents laws are predicated on a human controlling the vehicle.

Insurance Rates

The age and driving history are the driving forces (pun not intended) to car insurance rates. There's a reason why your rates decrease around age 25 because that is when your brain has fully developed.

But how does an insurance company rate a Tesla when A) you're not actually driving, and B) the car is far safer than a human, let alone a 16-year old teenager? It will be an important issue in the near future of how much an insurance company should charge when it is based on data that is no longer applicable.

With far less car accidents annually with self-driving cars, insurance companies will have to justify their rates. They should not be able to charge even close to their current lowest rates when they will rarely ever have to pay out.

Less Cars Overall

Ride-share is common with Uber and Lyft, but as Tesla rolls out Robotaxis and allows Tesla owners to add their cars to the fleet, there will be less need for so many cars owned. With how cheap electric is compared to gas, combined with insurance costs depending on what those companies do, there may be less of a need to ever own a car.

If you only need a car to grocery shop once a week, and perhaps make errands a couple times a month, you could save money by taking a robotaxi. A family could ride-share a Tesla, and call the car without the other person driving it around. For example, one person in the family has a 9-5 job that they drive to. Once they are at work, that person's significant other, family member, or grandparent could call the car to pick them up for grocery shopping around noon. The car would go back to the person's place of work afterward.

People in bigger cities already go their lives without owning a car, or having a driver's license. With Tesla ride-share, this could be true for even small towns in the near future.

Less Stress Driving

Driving can bestressful. Some people get very anxious when driving on highways in major cities. But the very act of driving is a heightened level of stress. Presumably, a driver must pay attention to the road, all of the things happening on and around the road, as well as what is happening behind you. That is all without any other distractions in the car. Long drives results in hours of heightened brain activity just to keep the car from not crashing.

While it is not as quantifiable as a reduction of road-related deaths annually, or a minor car accidents, the quality of life for many people would increase without the added stress of driving.

More Productive Commutes

Once the regulators gives its approval, Tesla self-driving cars will be able to play YouTubevideos, and stream Netflix shows. If Tesla adds other features like audio books and other entertainment, long commutes will be less of a detriment for drivers. No one would want to make a 2-hour commute, but if they were to spend those 2-hours at home watching Netflix, there's little difference between the commute and time at home.

Commutes in the future could be spent catching up on your favorite shows, reading more books, or accomplishing other tasks while the car drives you to work.

Less Need for Car Rentals

This ties into robotaxis and ride-sharing when traveling. Not only are they cheaper than renting a car, but there would be very little reason for car rental companies to even exist. Once you stepped off a plane, you could call for a Tesla to pick you up and take you wherever you needed to go, never needing to be familiar with the city as long as you have the address of your destination.

While a little more complicated, there is even a solution if you wanted your own Tesla in the city where you're traveling. Once charging stations can charge the battery autonomously, you could theoretically send your Tesla ahead early, take a robotaxi to the airport, then have your Tesla waiting for you when you arrive in another state. It would not be as cheap, but the option is there.

Time Saving

Cumulative time savings is not something most people consider. In areas like game design, if you can cut out a repetitive step that saves the player five seconds of their time, it doesn't seem like much, but if you're repeating that unnecessary step over and over, you can save hours.

Other tasks in your life if done more efficiently or removed all together could save you days worth of time. Self-charging stations could save you that much time each year. Any number of scenarios could result in you needing to have your car charged while you're at work. Instead of going to a charging station and waiting, you could send your car to do that itself.