"so what happens when coverage drops or even suffers just a second or so of latency?"
You assume it's not remote-operator augmented autonomous control
You also assume it's going to use a phone network
As a reminder:
There are already 1176 active + 176 Standby + 301 "off" (newly launched and still not at correct height) Starlink satellites in orbit for the first 53 degree inclination shell (1440 planned),
The SSO shell only has 12 satellites in orbit, but the recent shift of the "of course I still love you" droneship to Los Angeles is specifically so that SpaceX can concentrate on filling that shell with launches from Vandenberg (1440 planned, with 24*7 coverage all the way to the poles, something that will be a gamechanger in both Antarctica and the Frozen North)
There are AT LEAST 2 more shells planned
Latency on the existing "beta" systems is averaging less than 30ms and has been improving throughout the testing periods.
And that's just ONE of three competing LEO comsat constellation systems being deployed
How much bandwidth/latency will the average robocar actually need?
Biting the hand that feeds IT
