Ready for Tesla's Autonomy Investor Day & Driverless EVs

Tesla's Autonomy Investor Day is on Monday 22nd April 2024 - a day for Tesla to showcase its autonomous driving technology.

"On Investor Autonomy Day, Tesla will free investors from the tyranny of having to drive their own car," tweeted CEO Elon Musk. 

We recently rated autonomous driving in our Top 10: Innovations in Electric Vehicles, because whether or not you’d trust an autonomous vehicle with your commute, it is certainly a fascinating development in 21st century technology. 

Driving into the decline of manual driving

When cars were first introduced in the 1880s, some people protested their existence due to the threat such efficient transportation brought to familiar horse drawn carriages. But slowly, cars took over. Outside of tourism and regal activities, the horse drawn carriage has all but disappeared from the West. 

Now, the automobile sector may see history repeat itself, with the manually driven car going the same way as the carriage. 

The implications of autonomous vehicles are huge. While such technology is welcomed by those with health problems who want to retain their independence, it is an unwelcome development for the approximately 18m taxi drivers in the world and the many driving instructors. 

Yet it is likely that many people will want to continue to drive their own car, or at least gain the skill to do so - especially as videos of Tesla cars driving into kerbs or catching fire continue to rack up views from an anxious public. 

Tesla's newest Full-Self Driving software has received a range of reactions from its drivers. Tesla has offered a month-long trial of Full Self-Driving to all of its vehicles, in a bid to attract more users. This was previously set at US$199 a month. This upgrade is available through an upgrade via Tesla infotainment system and will be discussed in detail at Investor Autonomy Day.

Autonomous vehicles can save lives

The release of the Full Self-Driving capabilities was just in time for Maxpaul Franklin, whose Model Y took him to the hospital during a heart attack. 

“I found myself grappling with severe dehydration and a blood glucose level of 670 due to a malfunction in my insulin pump,” Maxpaul tweeted. “Engaging the new Full Self-Driving feature with a simple double click on the steering column stalk, the car skillfully navigated the 13-mile journey from my home to the VA Emergency Room, offering to autonomously park it upon arrival and let me seek immediate medical attention.”

So far, there is no word of development in the EV sector regarding self-driving emergency vehicles. However, the market size for autonomous firefighting robots is expected to reach US$2.9b by 2031. If successfully implemented, this would mean putting fires out faster and keeping firefighters safer (although it would make the FireFighters calendars a little dull).

“The leap from traditional vehicles to Tesla's Full Self-Driving functionality is like upgrading from a basic phone to a smartphone,” added Maxpaul. “I can unequivocally declare Tesla the pinnacle of automotive innovation today.”

The leap from horse drawn carriages to cars was enormous, propelling social change and improving quality of life across the world. The jump from manually driven cars to autonomous vehicles will be no different. 

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