Is Tesla still ahead in the race to self-driving cars, or has it fallen back into the pack? I think it still has a much more complete and robust solution set than anyone over several factors which support one another. Other companies are a bit ahead in one component or another, but no one else has the complete set.
Following the extensive deployment of its self-driving vehicle test fleet in pilot testing programs around the US, Waymo/Alphabet (Google, more or less, for those who don’t follow the tech industry) has now begun working with various local law enforcement agencies on the creation of new protocols related to self-driving vehicle collisions.
There is intense competition to be the first company to market with a fully autonomous, driverless ride-sharing service, and if the news that The Information recently dropped is accurate, then Google/Alphabet-owned Waymo will be offering one imminently.
Startup Strobe says its LIDAR costs 99% less to produce, so General Motors buys it, while taking a swipe at Elon Musk.
The commercial deployment of self-driving car tech in the US now appears to be on the fast track, following the unanimous approval of a bill aimed at just that outcome by a US Senate panel.
Despite Intel’s recent acquisition of the self-driving tech pioneer Mobileye, the company is apparently still (or perhaps actually because of that) working with other firms on related projects.
Alphabet, parent company of Google, is about to invest $1 billion in ride hailing service Lyft. Will the money help Lyft overtake Uber?
The parent company of Google, Alphabet, has now spent more than $1.1 billion on the development of self-driving vehicle tech — with that figure relating to funding from the start of the moonshot program’s Project Chauffeur in 2009 through the end of 2015 — according to a deposition recently given by Waymo’s Shawn Bananzadeh in relation to the firm’s lawsuit against Uber.
The House has passed legislation permitting the testing of up to 100,000 self driving cars on American roads. The bill now goes to the Senate.
The revolution that will soon transform the world’s transportation system centers around four parallel and mutually-reinforcing trends: electrification, autonomy, connectivity and new ownership models. Tesla almost single-handedly initiated the first three in production vehicles, and continues to dominate those fields.
