Jeremy Clarkson has described a worrying journey in one of Elon Musk's driverless Tesla Cybercabs, during which the vehicle ignored his commands, refused to pull over, and left him fearing he had no way to escape.
Writing in his latest column for The Sunday Times, the Clarkson's Farm star recounted how a routine taxi trip in Austin, Texas, turned into an unsettling ordeal. His first experience with the driverless service was conventional, with the app sending a car that had a steering wheel but no one required to operate it.
An Unexpected Vehicle
His next request, however, sent him a Tesla Cybercab, a two-seater vehicle without a steering wheel or pedals. Describing how the service worked, he explained: "So it arrives where you are waiting, and when it senses your phone, the door opens. And off you go."
Things did not go to plan. Clarkson watched the vehicle's progress on the app before it inexplicably stopped around the corner from where he was standing. He eventually located the car, climbed inside, and waited for it to move. When nothing happened, he tried communicating with its artificial intelligence assistant, asking: "'Hey Grok,' I said to the screen, 'can we set off now?'"
The electronic response did little to reassure him, telling him: "We are currently en route to your destination." However, the vehicle was not moving towards its destination. A member of staff eventually came over the speaker to explain there was a problem, forcing Clarkson to cancel his booking and request another vehicle.
A Worrying Journey
After "half an hour of swearing," a replacement arrived and initially appeared to work perfectly. But the journey took another worrying turn as the Cybercab approached its destination and refused to pull over.
"Looking for a safe place to pull over," the vehicle announced, despite seemingly passing numerous suitable places to stop. Things became increasingly chaotic as it continued around the streets, with Clarkson claiming it appeared to go through red lights before the display showing other road users began to glitch. The car then braked for a pedestrian who was not there and got into what he described as a "big debate with an autonomous shopping trolley about whose right of way it was."
The former Top Gear star said: "It was no longer listening to me. It wouldn't stop. It wouldn't open the doors. And I began to worry. Elon and I had a bit of a falling-out a while back and I thought it might be taking me to the room where he develops lasers. 'No, Mr Clarkson. I expect you to die.'"
Reluctance to Repeat
Thankfully, the Cybercab eventually pulled over before setting off again and taking him to his destination. Reflecting on the experience, Clarkson admitted: "But I must admit that for ten minutes or so, I was a bit worried because I was in a car that was driving itself while seemingly having some kind of electronic hot flush. And there was absolutely nothing I could do."
Despite admitting that he admired Musk's confidence in launching a vehicle without any back-up controls, Clarkson suggested he would not be rushing to use one again. He concluded: "But should he ever launch them in London, I'm afraid I'm going to stick with Mr Crikey."
