Are You Ready To Abandon The Car You Now Own?

Today that headline, if placed above an article that has been posted on the Internet, promises to attract the eyes of lots of potential readers. According to Elon Musk, the same headline should draw far less attention in 20 years. When interviewed by techinsider.io, that famous CEO said that in 20 years people would view a present-day car with the same lack of interest that the average commuter gives to a horse. 

What ongoing change has given rise to Musk’s observation? You may think that the CEO has learned about some unseen change. Actually, his comments reflect his analysis of the changes that members of the public notice, while viewing those automobile advertisements that appear on TV or in any other form of media.

Today, no one rides a horse to work, because that would require far greater effort than the act of sitting in a driver’s seat and directing the car’s wheels, as that same vehicle travels down the road. Admittedly, drivers do seem ready to deal with lots of distractions, even though the presence of such distractions threatens the safety of the driver and the car’s passengers. While such an attitude prevails among too many drivers, Musk predicts a marked attitude change in the future.

A growing number of the options made available to car-buying consumers reflect the public’s appreciation of devices that operate in an autonomous manner. In fact, automobile manufacturers have noted that marked level of appreciation. For that reason, the same manufacturers have chosen to work closely with computer experts, in order to develop an automobile that can operate in an autonomous fashion.

Tesla’s CEO intends to lead a company that will head the list of companies that have made self-driving cars available to the public. He hopes to have Tesla offering just such a vehicle in the short span of three years. As shown by the options available to Tesla’ current customer, Musk does not hold onto any unrealistic hopes.

In October of 2015, Tesla introduced the public to an automobile with an autopilot system. That introduction followed announcements about Tesla vehicles with automatic brakes, along with presentation of a vehicle that can make automatic lane changes. While those options addressed the needs of the driver of a moving vehicle, others have sought to make life easier for the person that has to park a car. 

For years driving instructors have devoted time to teaching the fundamentals of parallel parking. In some urban areas, it becomes impossible to park a car, in the absence of such fundamental skills. Now, however, introduction of self-parallel parking promises to remove at least one headache from each driver’s life.

Years ago, when a well-to-do or well-respected man tied a horse to a post or tree, he had to ask his servant to keep an eye on that same animal. Of course ownership of neither horses nor servants has now been linked to wealth or prestige. As illustrated by that example, you may someday view a present-day car with the same lack of interest that you show to a horse.