00:00Hello and welcome to TuningBlock's video about the new WMO and Seeker minivans.
00:11Does Tesla even stand a chance against WMO?
00:15The Robotaxi company WMO dominates the autonomous driving market and is making steady progress.
00:21Its competitor Tesla is falling further and further behind, while CEO Elon Musk is giving
00:27away hints. Today, for example, we read that Robotaxis require fewer cameras and radars.
00:34What sounds like a minor news item is actually a clear indication that WMO is making further
00:40progress in autonomous driving and is increasing its lead over the competition.
00:45WMO is the first company in the world to bring Robotaxis to market.
00:50Since launching in 2020 in a suburb of Phoenix, the completely driverless Robotaxi service
00:56has now expanded to large parts of Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
01:03The company currently completes more than 50,000 paid trips per week.
01:08No other company has completed as many real-world trips and test drives as WMO.
01:15Over 20 million miles of real-world driving and over 20 billion test miles have been completed
01:20to date, corresponding to approximately 32 million kilometers and 32 billion test kilometers,
01:26respectively.
01:29The cooperation with the Chinese automaker Zecker, announced in 2022, is now also bearing its first
01:36fruits.
01:36A handful of minivans, jointly developed by WMO and Zecker, have already been spotted on the
01:44streets of San Francisco.
01:47Until now, WMO relied exclusively on converted vehicles of the Jaguar I-Pace model, which is
01:52also battery-powered.
01:53Although the new minivans still have a safety driver, the fact that WMO is now using a more
02:00spacious, custom-built Robotaxi demonstrates what the respected technology portal TechCrunch
02:06calls the next stage of development for the Alphabet Group's autonomous vehicle technology.
02:13But what makes WMO so successful?
02:16Having a financially well-funded parent company in the background is certainly no disadvantage.
02:20The parent company, Alphabet, pledged an additional $5 billion, approximately 4 billion euros,
02:27to WMO at the end of July.
02:30The new round of financing should enable WMO to build the world's leading autonomous driving
02:35company, said Ruth Porad, Alphabet's outgoing CFO, during the presentation of the company's
02:41second-quarter results.
02:44Woe's prospects are good, as the company faces little serious competition.
02:50Cruise, arguably its biggest competitor, was sidelined by an accident in October 2023.
02:57A pedestrian in San Francisco was struck by a cruise vehicle and dragged several meters
03:02beneath the vehicle.
03:04The vehicles of the General Motors subsidiary are only gradually returning to the streets.
03:09But what about Tesla?
03:10If we believe the announcements of CEO Elon Musk, there should be tens of thousands of autonomous
03:16Teslas on the road around the world by now.
03:18Back in 2016, Musk revealed the secret Tesla Master Plan Part 2 and announced plans to turn
03:25Tesla models into robotaxis.
03:29Tesla owners could insert their cars into a Tesla robotaxis fleet at the push of a button
03:34and thus earn money when they don't need the car.
03:37The target, next year, i.e. 2017.
03:40Experts remain skeptical.
03:43Although Musk did indeed present Tesla's cyber cap in robo-in-robot taxis in October, it will
03:49likely be years before they are available on the streets.
03:53WMO will use this time to further refine its technology and improve the system.
03:58The fact is, Tesla urgently needs the robotaxi.
04:02The electric car pioneer's history alone is no longer enough to excite investors.
04:08On the contrary, Tesla is increasingly feeling the pressure of competition, particularly from
04:13cheaper models from China, which are eroding market share.
04:16The U.S. company is responding with discount campaigns, which, however, are putting a strain
04:20on margins.
04:22With the dwindling electric car hype, Tesla now needs a new project to convince investors to
04:27invest in its stock.
04:29In addition, Tesla has recently made negative headlines, primarily due to problems with its
04:35existing autopilot and full self-driving systems, and is facing several lawsuits for wrongful death.
04:42WMO, on the other hand, has more peculiar problems in comparison, which can still be stressful
04:47for local residents.
04:49Nighttime hub concerts in a Vimo parking lot in San Francisco caused a stir.
04:53The trigger was a new feature that makes cars honk when someone slowly reverses toward them.
05:01Makes sense for the city center, but not in the parking lot.
05:06Local resident Sophia Tong reported a crazy ballet of autonomous parking and honking around
05:114 a.m., as the blogger reported.
05:15A software patch was supposed to fix the problem, but according to Tong, it remains loud in the
05:20parking lot.
05:21This story shows, autonomous driving brings with it more pitfalls than many technology
05:27fans expected.
05:28If you enjoyed this insight, please consider subscribing.
05:32The story of the story of the story of the story of a short-term care-time-time-time-time-time-time-time-time-to-time-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-time-to-to-time
