Chris Lattner Says Opportunity to Work on Tesla's Ambitious Self-Driving Efforts Was 'Irresistible'

[M2M]

I guess Apple internally hasn't figured out the future of its developer tools (Macs? macOS ?) and currently is only betting on iOS, emojis, watchbands. Could leave someone like him looking for new more clear opportunities. Is also funny that I honestly see some overlapping between autopilot AI and Siri and seems like apples courageous leadership couldn't make a talented guy like him interested in Siri.

 

[IbisDoc]

Him leaving is a serious indictment on the direction of Apple's own secret car project.

Precursor to an Apple takeover of Tesla? Gotta do something with all that cash.

 

[Analog Kid]

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He's not I charge of the whole program. He's in charge of autopilot software. Seems a perfect fit. Also it's his leadership skills and direction. A compiler guy? He created a new language for christs sakes.

None of my comments were meant to disparage Lattner in any way-- I've got deep respect, and was sad to see him leave Apple (where I was more likely to benefit from his contributions). I was just surprised to see him put in such a prominent role in such a high profile development involving entire fields of technology that he's unfamiliar with. I'm not so much surprised that he jumped at the opportunity, as I am that Tesla tapped him for it. I'm glad, though, to see there's still companies that believe you don't have to be a lifelong specialist in a field to contribute to it.

He's VP of Autopilot Software, that pretty much puts him in charge of all of it. Sure, there's hardware involved somewhere, but the software is pretty much the program-- it's the part that hasn't been solved yet, everything else is cost reduction.

Also, creating languages is what compiler guys do if they're good and lucky enough to be put in a position to.

Given the VP title though, I suspect the real strength they identified was, as you say, his leadership skills and direction. They hired him as a manager rather than a contributor. I don't know how big the autopilot team is at Tesla, but given it's critical importance to the company I suspect it's huge. Lattner has shown an ability to organize large teams and to integrate the work of diverse contributors with deep expertise and strong personalities (if the Swift Evolution mailing list is anything to judge by).

That's probably the overlap I was overlooking-- which makes the decision less weird.

It also doesn't hurt that he knows a thing or to about regression testing...

 

[mdelvecchio]

i fully expect all the haters to take back their incorrect statements based on the previous rumor why he left.

 

[JGIGS]

Yes, but was it as irresistible as the opportunity to get that Grandpa Munster hair cut?

 

[pika2000]

Poor guy. Now he had to spare some time from his busy life justifying his personal decision just because some tech bloggers made up some news.

 

[viktore]

The future of Apple: A puddle jumper for anybody looking for a prestigious job elsewhere.

 

[Tech198]

"he is ready to move on to something new."

Yes, Apple car is dead in the water.... It can only explain why so many people are stepping down or getting out of doing the Apple Car. If there was a future, he would of stayed..

Good video

 

[lincolntran]

So....

"Tesla Autopilot is semi-autonomous in its current state for tasks such as steering and parking. Tesla's second-generation hardware suite has eight cameras that provide 360 degrees of visibility around the car at up to 250 meters of range. Twelve ultrasonic sensors and a forward-facing radar allow for detection of objects, even through heavy rain, fog, dust, and the car ahead. "

Yes, but Apple has a whole range of different colour watch bands, and phones now in pink.

I mean, come on, there is no comparison, Apple is so far ahead

Are you seriously implying that Apple has nothing interesting or my sarcasm sensor is off today?

 

[Soccertess]

I'm surprised no one has commented yet on the fact that it's Macrumors that talked to Lattner. Great job getting the interview! It's interesting to hear directly from him about his reasons for leaving Apple for Tesla.

good call! Kudos to mac rumors on getting the interview!! Impressive!

And I just got to say.. who would you like to work for.. Tim Cook or Elon Musk. Captain dongle head or CEO of Space X. The guy who has transformed the auto industry and rocket industry, or the guy who revolutionized watch bands.

 

[nextuser]

Am I the only one who has no interest in riding in a self driving car? I am a programmer, and I would never trust my life to this kind of complex software written other programmers. I mean, they can't even get auto-correct working properly

 

[Pike R. Alpha]

Apple is too far behind to be meaningful in the automotive industry. Tesla already has a few models available. Apple does not. Not a single one. Good move Chris. More money. Free cars. A bright and better future for him and his family. Well done.

 

[pat500000]

No doubt. Who wants to stay with a company that neglects your specialty?

 

[Pike R. Alpha]

Am I the only one who has no interest in riding in a self driving car? I am a programmer, and I would never trust my life to this kind of complex software written other programmers. I mean, they can't even get auto-correct working properly

Me neither. Not that I am scared or anything, since airplanes can fly themselves already, but I like to drive myself.

 

[frankgrimes]

Am I the only one who has no interest in riding in a self driving car? I am a programmer, and I would never trust my life to this kind of complex software written other programmers. I mean, they can't even get auto-correct working properly

Fully agreed I love great car technology in tremendous fashion but I need to feel the engine, the fuel pedal and the brakes. Knowing how complex software development is..I would never trust the car to have the autonomous driving nailed down to the point where I would feel safe using it.

That being said congratulations to Lattner more money, more responsibility and he is the head of a very very difficult project but the guy has the experience and know how to pull of such a gigantic project.

Instead of working for mister dongle he can now work for this generations Steve Jobs. Personally I'm not a fan of Tesla cars I want real buttons no touchscreens in my car and of course no built in tracking software other than my Tomtom navi

 

[Analog Kid]

Am I the only one who has no interest in riding in a self driving car? I am a programmer, and I would never trust my life to this kind of complex software written other programmers. I mean, they can't even get auto-correct working properly

What worries me more is the willingness of auto companies to cheat on emissions tests. That goes a long way toward undermining my confidence. Then add Tesla's requiring NDAs for warranty repairs which has the effect of hiding defects from the public and I think I'll wait a while until it all gets sorted.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Me neither. Not that I am scared or anything, since airplanes can fly themselves already, but I like to drive myself.

I like to drive too, but there are times and roads where the driving is boring, and it would be brilliant to let the car take over and do something else instead. My car has DSG with paddle shifts, and radar adaptive cruise control. When the road is fun, I drive in manual mode, but when it is boring I put it in auto mode with the adaptive cruise control on. Self driving and auto driving... I want both!

 

[NufSaid]

I think he just preordered a new Tesla and is tired of not getting to play with one.

Not sure why job moves make such a big deal. Sure these are high level - but anyone staying at a job for 2-3 years is amazing now a days.

 

[oplix]

drunk people will ruin this 100%

 

[PizzaBoxStyle]

Am I the only one who has no interest in riding in a self driving car? I am a programmer, and I would never trust my life to this kind of complex software written other programmers. I mean, they can't even get auto-correct working properly

 

[C DM]

The future of Apple: A puddle jumper for anybody looking for a prestigious job elsewhere.

So basically the past, present, and future of essentially any company out there since sooner or later many people move on from a position (for all kinds of reasons).
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Am I the only one who has no interest in riding in a self driving car? I am a programmer, and I would never trust my life to this kind of complex software written other programmers. I mean, they can't even get auto-correct working properly

And yet we fly in planes that use autopilot and all kinds of other technological assists in a lot of cases (in plenty simply just to keep the plane in the air, not even related to where it's going or how to get there, etc.).

 

[PizzaBoxStyle]

So basically the past, present, and future of essentially any company out there since sooner or later many people move on from a position (for all kinds of reasons).
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And yet we fly in planes that use autopilot and all kinds of other technological assists in a lot of cases (in plenty simply just to keep the plane in the air, not even related to where it's going or how to get there, etc.).

That is true, but...

Commercial aircraft are still piloted by trained/professional pilots and flight is regulated by the FAA.

 

[imnotarobot]

While I admired his incredible work on LLVM and Swift, his leadership of Xcode, not so much. I swear at it every day.

 

[Tycho24]

By FAR the most interesting point of this article??!!

The fact that this wunderkind has been a coder since before age 8!

FTA: "I've been coding for over 30 years now...."

Birth year - 1978

Color me impressed.

 

[Frawley]

Yeah, this driverless crap is all well and good on paper.