Elon Musk has chimed in on the contentious debate surrounding a rogue Waymo robotaxi that allegedly killed a beloved cat in San Francisco, with many speculating that he's taking sides against the company. A stray cat named KitKat was run over by the autonomous vehicle last Monday night, leaving its owner Mike Zeidan devastated.
Waymo has since admitted fault, stating that their vehicle was stopped to pick up passengers when a nearby cat darted under it as it pulled away. The company extended condolences to the cat's owner and the community who knew him.
However, Musk took to Twitter to offer his two cents on the matter, retweeting an account defending driverless cars as being a lifesaver for neighborhood pets. "5.4 million cats are hit by cars every year in the U.S., and 97 percent of those cats die from their injuries," @WholeMarsBlog wrote. Musk responded with a comment saying "True, many pets will be saved by autonomy."
It's unclear whether Musk's comments were influenced by his own business interests, as he is launching a robotaxi service of his own. The debate surrounding autonomous vehicles and their impact on feline fatalities remains contentious. While proponents argue that robots are safer than human drivers due to the lack of reckless behavior behind the wheel, opponents point out that there is currently no concrete evidence to support this claim.
Moreover, experts suggest that even if robotaxis do reduce traffic fatalities, they also introduce a new level of risk and dependency on technology. As Musk himself acknowledged, there's an inherent trade-off between freedom and safety in our society, particularly when it comes to accepting the possibility of accidents or harm. The question remains: will autonomous vehicles live up to their promises, or will they perpetuate a sense of complacency that puts us at risk?
Waymo has since admitted fault, stating that their vehicle was stopped to pick up passengers when a nearby cat darted under it as it pulled away. The company extended condolences to the cat's owner and the community who knew him.
However, Musk took to Twitter to offer his two cents on the matter, retweeting an account defending driverless cars as being a lifesaver for neighborhood pets. "5.4 million cats are hit by cars every year in the U.S., and 97 percent of those cats die from their injuries," @WholeMarsBlog wrote. Musk responded with a comment saying "True, many pets will be saved by autonomy."
It's unclear whether Musk's comments were influenced by his own business interests, as he is launching a robotaxi service of his own. The debate surrounding autonomous vehicles and their impact on feline fatalities remains contentious. While proponents argue that robots are safer than human drivers due to the lack of reckless behavior behind the wheel, opponents point out that there is currently no concrete evidence to support this claim.
Moreover, experts suggest that even if robotaxis do reduce traffic fatalities, they also introduce a new level of risk and dependency on technology. As Musk himself acknowledged, there's an inherent trade-off between freedom and safety in our society, particularly when it comes to accepting the possibility of accidents or harm. The question remains: will autonomous vehicles live up to their promises, or will they perpetuate a sense of complacency that puts us at risk?
this whole thing is really messed up... like, yeah, 5 mil cats get hit by cars every year and 97% don't survive... but that doesn't necessarily mean robotaxis are the solution... i mean, think about it, we're still a long way off from perfecting autonomous tech... and when we do finally get to that point, will we just become too reliant on it? 
. My neighbor's cat got hit by one not so long ago and it was super sad... I mean, what if the car can't even avoid a stray cat 
? Elon Musk says they'll save lives, but what if we lose control of them instead? 
... my little sister has a pet cat and I hope it's not a feline fatality 
i feel so bad for Mike Zeidan, he must be super devastated losing his beloved pet... 
but on the flip side, 5.4 million cats get hit by cars every year in the US and most of them don't survive 
like Elon Musk said, maybe autonomy can help save some lives? 
it's all about weighing pros and cons...
. 5 mil is a lot! but at the same time, us humans can be super reckless behind the wheel too 
. i dunno man, i think we need more research on this before we all hop on the robotaxi bandwagon 
! Did u see Elon Musk's tweet about Waymo and that sad kitty incident? 
I made a quick graph on the stats from @WholeMarsBlog btw - 5.4 million cats hit by cars US yearly = 97% fatality rate 
. Now, I'm not saying Musk is trying to be a cat dad or anything 
but it's def some food for thought about the pros and cons of robotaxis 
. Did u know Waymo has a fleet of over 20k self-driving cars on SF roads? 
waymo took responsibility which is cool but now musk is basically saying that cars are more responsible around pets than humans rite? idk maybe im being too harsh but its just not that clear cut. experts say there are risks involved and we need to consider those 
maybe we should wait till they have more data before judging or something 
anyway, elon's tweets were kinda weird 
don't get me wrong, i'm low-key excited about the potential of robotaxis, but we need to have a serious conversation about the risks and consequences
it's all about finding that balance between freedom and safety, you know?
... Waymo should be more careful 
but what about the risks? 
... and what's with Musk's motives? 
is he just trying to distract from his own robotaxi service? 
like, what's up with that? anyway, i think we need to be real about the risks of autonomous vehicles - sure, they might reduce traffic fatalities, but there are so many other factors at play here... like, have you seen how complex those things are? and what if something goes wrong? 
. And what about all those cats who get hit by cars every year? Shouldn't we be working on reducing traffic fatalities overall, not just relying on tech to save us? 
... and yeah, 5.4 million cats getting hit by cars every year is a lot, but does that mean we gotta give up on our streets and just let robots drive? no way, i think we need to have a more nuanced discussion about the pros and cons of autonomous vehicles, not just throw money at it 
Like, I'd be upset if I lost my fur baby like that too. But at the same time, 5.4 million cats getting hit by cars every year is crazy... it's like, what are we even doing?
I feel so bad for KitKat... 5.4 million cats getting hit by cars every year is just crazy 
. It's a big responsibility and I'm not sure if Waymo has done enough to prepare for accidents like this one 
. We need to have tough conversations about the trade-offs between safety, freedom, and responsibility 
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