Tesla is working hard to develop a fully self-driving system, but its CEO Elon Musk seems to have been concerned about the problems that the emergence of autonomous driving may cause. Musk recently made comments on Twitter acknowledging that self-driving cars could make traffic worse because people no longer feel the pain of driving themselves.
Musk first reiterated his view that overcoming traffic congestion is a very difficult task, calling it the “final Boss battle.” Even the most powerful humans in the world can’t beat the drudgery of dealing with heavy traffic, Musk said.
Musk then said self-driving cars could make traffic worse. “Self-driving cars will amplify traffic to crazy levels because you won’t feel the pain of driving yourself,” Musk wrote.
Self-driving car will amplify traffic to insane levels, as you won’t feel the pain of driving yourself
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2022
According to Musk, the advent of self-driving cars will make getting around easier, but it could also lead to an increase in the number of cars on the road, leading to worse traffic jams.
However, the advent of self-driving cars should potentially reduce traffic jams caused by drivers with poor driving habits. Overall, Musk is likely to be right in predicting that autonomous driving will lead to more cars on the road. However, with the advent of self-driving systems, traffic congestion caused by human error may also decrease.