Former Tesla AI leader Andrej Karpathy has forecasted that self-driving cars will profoundly alter urban environments, likening the change to terraforming. In a recent post on X, he emphasized that while the shift won't occur overnight, it will reclaim space for humans and enhance safety. Karpathy, who also cofounded OpenAI, highlighted benefits like reduced parking and noise pollution.
Andrej Karpathy, a founding engineer at OpenAI and former head of Tesla's Autopilot team, shared his vision for autonomous vehicles in a post on X on Thursday. Having left Tesla in 2022, Karpathy described self-driving cars as a transformative technology. "It will be the first technology in many decades to visibly terraform outdoor physical spaces and way of life," he wrote.
He outlined specific changes: "Less parked cars. Less parking lots. Much greater safety for people in and out of cars. Less noise pollution. More space reclaimed for humans." Karpathy anticipates that robotaxis will free up drivers' "attention capital" from tasks like lane following, while also making physical goods delivery cheaper and faster.
His remarks align with sentiments from Tesla CEO Elon Musk. During the Cybercab unveiling last October, Musk presented renders of future urban areas where parking lots become green spaces due to autonomous vehicles. In Tesla's latest earnings call, Musk called the ability to text while the car drives itself the "killer app" for the Cybercab, though texting while driving remains illegal in nearly all US states.
Currently, Tesla runs a robotaxi service with safety monitors in Austin and a Full Self-Driving ride-hailing with drivers in San Francisco. Competitor Waymo provides driverless rides in five major US cities. Both firms plan expansions but contend with varying state regulations on autonomous vehicles.