Hypothetical here, but my mum's 88 and various relatives have had to give up driving around age 90 due to becoming dangerous, so I've been kind of looking out for something like this that could get her around in that event.
Another thing re the price point, in other news "Apollo launched its sixth-generation robotaxi at Apollo Day 2024 in Wuhan, Hubei province today, costing 200,000 yuan ($27,670), a 60 percent drop compared to its predecessor." https://cnevpost.com/2024/05/15/baidu-apollo-launches-6th-ge...
So maybe they are trying to keep up with the Apolloses. Which are actually out there taking rides - they are similar to Waymo.
Another thing re the price point, in other news "Apollo launched its sixth-generation robotaxi at Apollo Day 2024 in Wuhan, Hubei province today, costing 200,000 yuan ($27,670), a 60 percent drop compared to its predecessor." https://cnevpost.com/2024/05/15/baidu-apollo-launches-6th-ge...
So maybe they are trying to keep up with the Apolloses. Which are actually out there taking rides - they are similar to Waymo.