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Tag: autonomous vehicles

  • Ford Is Working on Self-Driving Repos

    Ford Is Working on Self-Driving Repos

    Ford has a novel idea for self-driving tech, with plans to use the it to automatically repossess cars from owners that default on their payments.

    Ford originally filed for a patent in 2021 describing a system that would enable a vehicle to repossess itself. The patent, which was just rewarded last week, would allow a lender to ramp up repossession efforts, from sending notifications to limiting the vehicle’s movements to a specific geofenced area.

    In the final state of the process, when the repossession involves an autonomous vehicle, the vehicle’s computers can drive the vehicle back to the lender or repo agency.

    In some other cases, the vehicle can be an autonomous vehicle and the repossession system computer may cooperate with the vehicle computer to autonomously move the vehicle from the premises of the owner to a location such as, for example, the premises of the repossession agency, the premises of the lending institution, an impound pound, or any other pre-designated location. The address of such locations may be previously stored in a database of the repossession system computer.

    Ford’s approach is certainly an interesting use of self-driving tech, and one that will probably make more than a few customers uncomfortable.

  • Apple Reportedly Shooting for 2025 to Release Full Self-Driving Car

    Apple Reportedly Shooting for 2025 to Release Full Self-Driving Car

    Apple is reportedly working to launch a full self-driving Apple Car as early as 2025, potentially turning the auto industry on its head.

    Apple has reportedly been working on the Apple Car, code-named “Project Titan,” for years. The company has tried to establish manufacturing deals with various automakers, and has waffled back and forth on exactly what the Apple Car will be. According to Bloomberg, the company’s plans are coming into focus, with a proposed debut as early as 2025.

    Apple has been working on two different approaches with Project Titan: one being a more traditional vehicle, with limited self-driving abilities, and the other a completely autonomous vehicle that requires no human interaction. Bloomberg’s sources say the company has settled on the latter option under project leader Kevin Lynch.

    If Apple is able to deliver, it has the potential to upend the entire auto industry. Automakers large and small have been working to crack the autonomous driving issues — with varying degrees of success. Ultimately, no automaker has managed to make a truly autonomous vehicle, one that doesn’t require human interaction.

    In fact, it’s believed the Apple Car will ship without a steering wheel or control pedals, although it may provide a way to take over in an emergency. The car may also feature seating around the sides of the car, rather than the traditional configuration, making it easier for passengers to visit with each other. Apple is reportedly considering an infotainment system — perhaps iPad-based — in the center of the vehicle. This would make it easier for all passengers to interact with it and get pertinent information about their journey.

    Interestingly, Bloomberg’s sources say the company’s chip design group has been working on the processors that will power the car’s AI, rather than the car group itself. Given the experience the chip design group has with the M1 and A-series lines of chips, this decision makes a lot of sense. Apple is also focusing extensively on safety, aiming to provide more safety measures than either Tesla or Waymo.

    Only time will tell if Apple is successful with Project Titan. If it is, however, the auto industry might join the list of industries reimagined and revolutionized by Apple.

  • Intel Wins DARPA Contract For Off-Road Autonomous Vehicle Sim Software

    Intel Wins DARPA Contract For Off-Road Autonomous Vehicle Sim Software

    Intel has won a contract to provide the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) with simulation software for autonomous off-road vehicle testing.

    Automakers around the world are working to develop autonomous vehicles, but their application goes far beyond the highway. Unfortunately, most autonomous vehicle development focuses almost exclusively on highway travel, leaving a gaping hole in the technology’s future, as Intel highlights:

    In the context of autonomous driving, the gap between on-road and off-road deployment is still very significant. Many simulation environments exist today, but few are optimized for off-road autonomy development at scale and speed. Additionally, real-world demonstrations continue to serve as the primary method to verify system performance.

    Off-road autonomous vehicles must deal with substantial challenges, including a lack of road networks and extreme terrain with rocks and all types of vegetation, among many others. Such extreme conditions make developing and testing expensive and slow. The RACER-Sim program aims to solve this problem by providing advanced simulation technologies to develop and test solutions, reducing deployment time and validation of AI-powered autonomous systems.

    To solve these problems, DARPA is turning to Intel to provide simulation software to help further off-road development.

    “Intel Labs has already made progress in advancing autonomous vehicle simulation through several projects, including the CARLA simulator, and we’re proud to participate in RACER-Sim to continue contributing to the next frontier of off-road robotics and autonomous vehicles,” said German Ros, Autonomous Agents Lab director at Intel Labs. “We brought together a team of renowned experts from the Computer Vision Center and UT Austin with the goal of creating a versatile and open platform to accelerate progress in off-road ground robots for all types of environments and conditions.”

  • NHTSA Ruling Opens Door to Fully Autonomous Vehicles

    NHTSA Ruling Opens Door to Fully Autonomous Vehicles

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a ruling that opens the door to fully autonomous vehicles in the US.

    Virtually every major automaker is working to develop and deploy autonomous vehicles, but regulations have been as much an impediment as the actual technology. The Department of Transportation’s NHTSA has taken a major step forward in addressing the regulatory issues with the first-of-its-kind safety standards, designed to protect passengers in vehicles with automated driving systems (ADS).

    “Through the 2020s, an important part of USDOT’s safety mission will be to ensure safety standards keep pace with the development of automated driving and driver assistance systems,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “This new rule is an important step, establishing robust safety standards for ADS-equipped vehicles.”

    “As the driver changes from a person to a machine in ADS-equipped vehicles, the need to keep the humans safe remains the same and must be integrated from the beginning,” said Dr. Steven Cliff, NHTSA’s Deputy Administrator. “With this rule, we ensure that manufacturers put safety first.”

    In particular, the new standard stipulates that occupants of ADS-equipped vehicles must be afforded the same level of safety as a traditional vehicle provides.

    The full content of the new rule can be accessed here.

  • Volkwagen Preparing to Take On Tesla, Defend Its Home Turf

    Volkwagen Preparing to Take On Tesla, Defend Its Home Turf

    Volkswagen is preparing to defend its home turf, ramping up electric vehicle (EV) production to take on Tesla in Germany.

    Tesla’s Gigafactory is the company’s first manufacturing operation in Germany, as Tesla works to maintain its dominance in the EV market. Unfortunately for the company, virtually every major automaker is racing to transition to an EV lineup, and Volkswagen is no exception.

    According to TheStreet, Volkswagen is planning on spending some $2.2 billion on a new factory to produce its Trinity EV. Construction will begin in early 2023, with the first vehicles slated to roll off the assembly line in 2026. Volkswagen’s goal is to make the Trinity a carbon-neutral vehicle.

    “We are setting benchmarks in the automotive industry with Trinity and the new factory and turning Wolfsburg into the global lighthouse for cutting-edge and efficient vehicle production,” CEO Ralf Brandstätter said in a statement.

    The company is also “seeking to attract new groups of customers and tap additional sources of income” as it continues to work on autonomous vehicles. Like other automakers, the company has been working on the next evolution of the automobile, developing its own autonomous software and partnering with Microsoft Azure to help power it.

  • Intel’s Mobileye Targeting 2024 For ‘Autonomous Mover’ Shuttles

    Intel’s Mobileye Targeting 2024 For ‘Autonomous Mover’ Shuttles

    Mobileye, Intel’s autonomous driving subsidiary, is working to bring autonomous shuttles to the market by 2024.

    The autonomous market has been heating up, with automakers racing to advance the sophistication of their AI with the goal of delivering a truly autonomous driving experience. Intel’s Mobileye is considered the “dark horse” in the industry, leveraging Intel’s experience and resources along with its own.

    According to the companies, Mobileye will bring fully-electric, autonomous shuttles to the market, in partnership with Benteler Electric Vehicle Systems and Beep. Beep specializes in next-generation autonomous, electric vehicles (EVs), while Benteler is a leader in the manufacturing of various EV components. The three companies are working on “autonomous movers,” multipassenger, autonomous EVs, which will be deployed in the US first.

    “Multipassenger micro-transit needs are ever-increasing in our cities and towns globally and must be addressed in order to reduce road congestion, protect the environment and provide safe, reliable mobility for all to access,” explained Hinrich Woebcken, advisory board member for Beep and former CEO of Volkswagen North America. “Bringing to market an affordable, automotive-grade, electric, autonomous mover is a solution that will transform mobility as we know it today.”

    The shuttles will offer 24/7 transportation, giving passengers a cost-effective option.

    “Autonomous movers are the solution for future public transportation, solving the mobility challenges of increasing urbanization and emissions,” said Marco Kollmeier, managing director of Benteler EV Systems GmbH. “These movers need to be robust for 24/7 public or commercial use, at optimized costs and with excellent riding comfort. Consequently, we decided to go for this strategic collaboration with our partners Mobileye and Beep, to build autonomous movers delivering exactly against these market demands. Another example of how we make the mobility of tomorrow lighter, safer and more sustainable.”

  • Full Self-Driving Bug Leads to Recall of 11,704 Teslas

    Full Self-Driving Bug Leads to Recall of 11,704 Teslas

    Tesla is recalling 11,704 vehicles over its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, adding to the company’s ongoing problems rolling out autonomous vehicles.

    Tesla has been struggling to make FSD live up to the hype. There have been a number of accidents, and lawmakers are calling on the FTC to investigate Tesla’s FSD claims. The company recently had to roll backa recent beta due to issues with the collision system registering fall positives and slamming on the brakes.

    Tesla has now issued a full recall on 11,704 vehicles, describing the issue as “a software communication disconnect between the two on-board chips.”

    A software communication error may, under a certain sequence of events, result in false forward-collision warnings (FCW) and/or automatic emergency brake (AEB) events.

    The issue can result in the type of collision system false positives people have been reporting.

    If the AEB system unexpectedly activates while driving, the risk of a rear-end collision from a following vehicle may increase. We are not aware of any crashes or injuries related to this condition.

    The recall is certain to deal a blow to Tesla’s FSD efforts and will likely lead to additional calls for investigation.

  • Waymo Now Providing Autonomous Rides in San Francisco — With a Catch

    Waymo Now Providing Autonomous Rides in San Francisco — With a Catch

    Waymo is expanding its autonomous testing in San Francisco, accepting passengers, provided they’re willing to meet the terms.

    Waymo has been working toward autonomous vehicles for years, and is one of the leaders in the field. The company has been allowing employees to ride in its vehicles, but is now allowing the general public to, according to The Verge.

    Interested parties can apply via the Waymo One app and its “Trusted Tester” program. Individuals will have to sign an NDA, and they won’t be completely alone in the vehicle. A safety driver will be present to take over, should anything go wrong.

    Even with its restrictions, Waymo’s new program is a significant step forward on the path toward fully autonomous driving.

  • Elon Musk: Tesla’s Full Self-Driving ‘Actually Not Great’

    Elon Musk: Tesla’s Full Self-Driving ‘Actually Not Great’

    Elon Musk has admitted that Tesla’s current Full Self-Driving (FSD) software leaves much to be desired, and offered an explanation why.

    Tesla’s FSD is the company’s attempt to build autonomous vehicles. Unfortunately, the reality hasn’t always lived up to the hype. In fact, Consumer Reports demonstrated that FSD is “easily tricked.” Even US Senators are calling for the Federal Trade Commission to launch an investigation into the company’s claims.

    Elon Musk has acknowledged the current version of FSD not very good, and indicated the reason has to do with using the same stack for both highway and city driving, as opposed to using a different stack for each type.

    Hopefully Musk’s optimism is well-deserved and Tesla’s engineers will be able to make significant improvements to FSD.

  • GM and AT&T Partnering to Bring 5G to Vehicles

    GM and AT&T Partnering to Bring 5G to Vehicles

    GM and AT&T are partnering to bring 5G to GM’s vehicle lineup right off the assembly line.

    5G promises to revolutionize multiple industries, with its high speeds and low latency. Few stand to benefit as much as the automotive industry, with 5G seen as a crucial component of autonomous driving efforts.

    GM and AT&T are working together to make that a reality by bringing 5G to GM’s lineup by the end of the decade. The two companies will collaborate on building out a high performance 5G core, with a focus on improved coverage of roadways, better over-the-air software updates, improved navigation and mapping, as well as faster music and video downloads.

    The technology will begin rolling out in select 2024 models.

    “Together with AT&T, we’ve brought unprecedented experiences to the daily commute, family road trips and everything in between,” said Santiago Chamorro, GM vice president of Global Connected Services. “As an in-vehicle connectivity leader, this rollout demonstrates our commitment to growth through software-enabled services and reimagining every customer touchpoint by enabling faster connectivity speeds to power in-vehicle voice-enabled services, navigation, and apps that our customers have grown to love.”

    “By connecting millions of GM vehicles to our nationwide 5G network, we will improve the customer experience for existing services while laying the groundwork for the next wave of innovation including autonomous driving,” said Gregory Wieboldt, senior vice president, Global Business, Industry Solutions, AT&T. “We now connect more vehicles than any other carrier and GM has played a critical role in our success. We’re honored to work alongside GM to usher the next chapter of connected driving.”

  • Autonomous Cars Harder to Develop Than Elon Musk Thought

    Autonomous Cars Harder to Develop Than Elon Musk Thought

    Elon Musk has admitted developing autonomous cars is harder than he thought, as the timeline for the latest software update slips again.

    Like most automakers, Tesla is working hard to crack autonomous driving, widely seen as the next big evolution for the auto industry. The company’s software has been criticized for being ‘easily tricked,’ and there have been several high-profile deaths involving Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD).

    When a user poked fun on Twitter over the latest software update missing its deadline, Musk responded, acknowledging the difficulties involved.

    Musk’s admission underscores the challenges companies are facing in their effort to bring the auto industry into the future.

  • Germany Clearing Autonomous Vehicles for Regular Use

    Germany Clearing Autonomous Vehicles for Regular Use

    Germany is poised to be the first country to clear autonomous vehicles for everyday use.

    According to Deutsche Welle, Germany’s lower house of parliament has passed a bill that paves the way for autonomous vehicle integration, with the bill moving to the upper chamber for passage. The bill would allow autonomous vehicles to be a standard part of daily traffic, with minimal restrictions.

    “Individual permits, exceptions and requirements — such as the presence of a safety assurance driver who is always ready to intervene — would not be necessary,” the Transportation Ministry said in a statement.

    In order to qualify, however, they must be Level 4 autonomous vehicles. Autonomous vehicles are ranked (via TechRepublic) from Level 0 to Level 5, with Level 0 having no autonomous ability and Level 5 requiring no human control whatsoever. Level 4 is still considered “fully autonomous,” even though it may not cover every conceivable driving scenario. Instead, Level 4 is focused on “operational design domain (ODD)” performance.

    Currently, there are no Level 4 vehicles available. In fact, Honda recently made headlines when it announced the world’s first Level 3 autonomous vehicle. As a result, it may be some time before there are vehicles available that meet Germany’s threshold. Nonetheless, once the bill goes into effect, Level 4 vehicles should be approved as of 2022.

    “Germany will be the first country worldwide to take autonomous vehicles from the research laboratories to the streets,” said Transportation Minister Andreas Scheuer in a statement. “We are now a major step closer to that goal.

  • California DMV Reviewing Tesla Over Self-Driving Claims

    California DMV Reviewing Tesla Over Self-Driving Claims

    Tesla is currently “under review” by California’s DMV to determine if the company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology claims were misleading.

    Like many companies, Tesla has been working toward autonomous driving technology. Autonomous driving software is ranked on a scale of 0 to 5, with 0 having no autonomous capabilities and 5 requiring no driver control. Currently, Tesla’s FSD is considered a Level 2 technology. Tesla’s tech has recently come under fire for being easily fooled and endangering people’s lives.

    In spite of its limitations, Musk has touted FSD, even going so far as to exaggerate claims about the technology. Those exaggerations have helped bring unwanted scrutiny on Tesla, with The L.A. Timesreporting the California DMV is reviewing the company’s claims. In particular, the company’s labeling its technology as “self-driving,” let alone “Full Self-Driving,” could pose legal issues.

    “Tesla seems to be asking for legal trouble on many fronts,” law professor Bryant Walker Smith told the L.A. Times. “From the FTC and its state counterparts for deceptive marketing. From the California DMV for, potentially, crossing into the realm of autonomous vehicle testing without state approval, from competitors with driver assistance systems, competitors with actual automated driving systems, ordinary consumers, and future crash victims who could sue under state or federal law.”

    Although California law holds the driver responsible for any accidents, the DMV still has the authority to impose penalties on companies that make misleading claims. The penalties could range from withholding autonomous deployment permits to revoking manufacturing and dealership licenses.

  • GM CEO Wants Personal Autonomous Vehicles by 2030

    GM CEO Wants Personal Autonomous Vehicles by 2030

    General Motors CEO Mary Barra is has expressed her desire to have personal autonomous vehicles by 2030.

    Autonomous and self-driving vehicles are the next major evolution of the automotive industry. Early studies have shown autonomous vehicles can significantly reduce accidents and fatalities. Autonomous vehicles also promise to revolutionize the entire driving experience, freeing individuals from the tedium of actually driving. Instead, the daily commute could eventually be used to relax, watch TV or engage in any number of other activities.

    Many companies are focusing their self-driving efforts primarily on fleet vehicles, ride-sharing and other commercial applications. GM CEO Mary Barra, however, wants to see autonomous personal vehicles from GM by 2030.

    “There’s a lot to still unfold, but I believe we’ll have personal autonomous vehicles and then that will leverage the capability we have at Cruise with the capability that we have at the car company to really be well positioned to delight the customers from that perspective,” Barra said, according to TechCrunch. “So both paths are very important because the technology we put on vehicles today I think makes them safer and delights the customers and is going to give us an opportunity for subscription revenue, and then the ultimate work that we’re doing at Cruise, that is full autonomous, really opens up, you know, more possibilities then I think we can outline today.”

    GM has taken a measured approach to autonomous driving. Given that, Barra’s statement will likely put pressure on any slower-moving companies to pick up the pace.

  • Volkswagen Chooses Microsoft Azure to Accelerate Autonomous Driving

    Volkswagen Chooses Microsoft Azure to Accelerate Autonomous Driving

    Volkswagen has announced it is partnering with Microsoft to use Azure to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicles.

    The majority of automakers are working on autonomous driving as the next major evolution of the auto industry. Various automakers are taking different approaches, with Volkswagen indicating it wants to develop its autonomous software in-house.

    To aid in that goal, Volkswagen’s software company, Car.Software Organisation, will work with Microsoft to use Azure to help build a cloud-based Automated Driving Platform (ADP). Running ADP on Azure will allow Volkswagen to develop the platform faster and scale it globally.

    “As we transform Volkswagen Group into a digital mobility provider, we are looking to continuously increase the efficiency of our software development. We are building the Automated Driving Platform with Microsoft to simplify our developers’ work through one scalable and data-based engineering environment. By combining our comprehensive expertise in the development of connected driving solutions with Microsoft’s cloud and software engineering know-how, we will accelerate the delivery of safe and comfortable mobility services,” said Dirk Hilgenberg, CEO of the Car.Software Organisation.

    “This is the next evolution of our foundational work with the Volkswagen Group to enhance their transformation as a software-driven mobility provider,” said Scott Guthrie, executive vice president, Cloud + AI at Microsoft. “The power of Microsoft Azure and its compute, data and AI capabilities will enable Volkswagen to deliver secure and reliable automated driving solutions to their customers faster.”

    Snagging the world’s largest automaker, the Volkswagen Group, is a big win for Microsoft, especially in the wake of Ford’s decision to use Google Cloud for its connected vehicle efforts. Ford had long been a Microsoft partner, relying on the tech company’s software for its vehicles’ navigation and entertainment systems.

  • The Autonomous Vehicle Economy

    The Autonomous Vehicle Economy

    It’s no wonder that auto insurance is one of the American’s largest yearly sums. Car insurance costs per person measure nearly $2,500 a year, and have been steadily rising over time. In fact, research suggests that premiums are rising 6.4% per year.

    Like anything else, insurance rates can be hacked. One of the best ways to do this is through technology — in other words, autonomous vehicles.

    Understanding Insurance Rates

    Insurance rates rise and fall according to certain set parameters. While some factors are outside of personal control, others are not. These include:

    Car type is one of the most important factors of insurance rates today, and will continue to be one of the leading influencers of premiums in the future. The reason? Autonomous vehicles.

    How Self Driving Cars Dash Insurance Rates

    Autonomous vehicles have the potential to drive the driving game in a number of ways, especially with auto insurance premiums. Not only will self-driving cars hack the way we drive on the road, but they have the potential to hack insurance premiums in a big way. And driving-assistance systems seem to be leading the way.

    Self driving car manufacturers keep large databases on vehicle accidents, risk percentages, and collision history. Rather than buying directly from insurance companies, autonomous vehicles present the opportunity to purchase policies directly from the manufacturers themselves. 

    Here’s how it would work:

    • Instead of determining liability and fault through conventional methods, self-driving cars could present the opportunity of a split fault or no fault insurance policy.
    • Manufacturers would have the perfect formulas for determining collision probability.
    • Premiums may be decreased after each vehicle upgrade or model release.

    By 2035, researchers believe that hacked auto insurance rates will save consumers up to $25 billion dollars. Whether or not you choose to adopt self driving vehicles in the coming years, their ability to hack insurance rates to more competitive costs cannot be ignored.

    the autonomous vehicle economy (infographic)
  • Tesla Promises $25,000 Vehicle Within Three Years

    Tesla Promises $25,000 Vehicle Within Three Years

    Elon Musk has promised dramatically lower battery costs, leading to $25,000 Tesla vehicles within three years.

    During the company’s Battery Day, Musk talked about the future of battery production. “The battery stuff is clearly revolutionary and essential to Tesla’s goal,” Musk said, “accelerating the [transition] to sustainable energy.”

    According to NBC News, Musk said there would need to be significant technological breakthroughs for the cost of batteries to come down lower than they currently are. In the meantime, the company is planning on revamping its entire manufacturing process, streamlining it and eliminating more expensive elements.

    The result will be batteries that are not only less expensive, but also pack more energy. Controlling the entire process could give Tesla an even greater advantage over competitors than it currently enjoys.

    Either way, Musk is confident $25,000, fully autonomous Teslas will be a reality within three years.

  • Ultimate Solution For Uber and Lyft Is Autonomy

    Ultimate Solution For Uber and Lyft Is Autonomy

    “The ultimate solution for Uber and Lyft is autonomy,” says Loup Ventures Managing Partner Gene Munster. “If this employee model simply doesn’t work you are going to see these companies push even harder into autonomous systems simply eliminating the drivers. However, this will attract more competition. I think the two best companies positioned within that would be Google and their Waymo initiatives and also Tesla and how they are going to vector into the ridesharing market.”

    Gene Munster, Managing Partner at Loup Ventures, discusses how California in forcing drivers to be employees may ultimately speed up the efforts of Uber and Lyft to go fully self-driving and thereby simply eliminate all human drivers:

    What Would The Drivers Want?

    Both Uber and Lyft are in a tight spot. There was reprieve today. But this topic is not over with this vote coming November 3rd and California’s influence that they can have with other states. If you put all of this together and think about if these changes to employees across the country, it could be a 15 percent increase (in costs). This is effectively their profit margins.

    I do want to caution the voters of California and also some of the lawmakers on one aspect. What would the drivers want? Most of these drivers use both apps, both Lyft and Uber. If they are employees they likely will be restricted from jumping from app to app. That would cut down some of their rides and cut down what they will be paid on an hourly basis. I don’t think that the right path here is as clear for the drivers in simply becoming an employee.

    Ultimate Solution For Uber and Lyft Is Autonomy

    The ultimate solution for Uber and Lyft is autonomy. If this employee model simply doesn’t work you are going to see these companies push even harder into autonomous systems simply eliminating the drivers. One of the unique things about Lyft and Uber is it is a two-sided marketplace. They have drivers and riders. In an autonomous world you don’t need drivers. Essentially, that would leave Lyft and Uber with their key asset, their brands around movement. I think that is an asset but I don’t know if it is worth $55 billion.

    What I really take away from this is that over the next few years there are going to be ups and downs related to this regulation. Longer term, we know where this is going. Cars should be autonomous for safety reasons and productivity reasons. Ultimately, ridesharing with Uber and Lyft is going to be fully self-driving. This topic we are discussing today is going to be largely irrelevant.

    Lyft is already testing self-driving rides in Las Vegas

    Google and Tesla Will Compete With Uber and Lyft

    There are some key nuances to an autonomous ridesharing business model. As I mentioned, there is a two-sided marketplace. That’s really what makes Lyft and Uber special today. One of the sides of the marketplace, the drivers side of this, is under some pressure right now. But if we eliminate the drivers side then you don’t even have a marketplace. You are just trying to get consumers to ride. That opens up new competitors. There are about six of them that are trying to get there.

    The autonomy option is a better option for Lyft and Uber than what they currently have with humans driving. For an investor it’s a more profitable option. However, ultimately it will attract more competition. I think the two best companies positioned within that would be Google and their Waymo initiatives and also Tesla and how they are going to vector into the ridesharing market.

    I Would Put My Money On Lyft

    Assuming their ballot initiative wins in November, I’m in the Lyft camp. This is partly because I like their focus just on the US and on ridesharing. I think that the Uber Eats business, while its had a tremendous tailwind, it will get progressively more competitive and it’s tougher to make money in that business.

    Ultimately, if I had my choice I would put my money on Lyft. There is another X factor here. There is something subtle about Lyft’s culture. It is a more investor friendly culture and that influences my view.

    Ultimate Solution For Uber and Lyft Is Autonomy, Says Loup Ventures Managing Partner Gene Munster
  • Report: Potential Tesla Valuation of $2.7 Trillion by 2024

    Report: Potential Tesla Valuation of $2.7 Trillion by 2024

    “We just put out our latest research on Tesla,” says Ark Investment analyst Tasha Keeney. “We think over the next five years our expected value for the stock is $7,000 per share.”  Tesla’s current share price is roughly $735 equating to a market cap of $132.4 billion. A $7,000 per share price would increase their current value tenfold. And that’s just Ark’s “expected” valuation. Ark’s bullish valuation is $15,000 a share, a $2.7 trillion market cap. 

    Keeney says it’s because Tesla is a leader in electric autonomous vehicles. “That’s the future of the auto market. What we’ve seen over the past year is that traditional autos have really struggled to produce EVs that are on par with Tesla’s cars and its data library. In terms of autonomous driving, it is really just running away from the competition.” 

    Source: Ark Investment

    Ark Investment analyst Tasha Keeney further explained their bullish prediction for Tesla:

    Tesla Has a Massive Advantage With Their Machine Learning Algorithms

    In electric vehicles, Tesla is the leader and that’s because they’re writing down the battery cost decline curve. At Arc Invest we’ve actually done a lot of work using Wright’s Law to predict the future declines of batteries. Basically, for every cumulative doubling in production, you get a corresponding reduction in cost. We actually think that Tesla’s gross margins could go from say around 20 percent today, if you take out credits, to up to 40 in the best-case scenario. They also have not lost share in the electric vehicle market.

    They’re sitting right around an 18 percent share. We think that they’re at least three years ahead of other automakers on a battery efficiency standpoint. That’s dollar per range that you get out of the car. Then on autonomous driving, they’re the only automaker that’s collecting data from their vehicles. This gives them a massive advantage in terms of training their machine learning algorithms to get the car to drive. 

    Our Case Is Really Driven By Autonomous Driving

    We’ve devised a probability matrix where we’ve looked at the past year. We’ve seen what Tesla’s done in Shanghai and It’s amazing. They’ve built the factory in less than a year, and they’re right now shipping cars. Tesla’s shown that they can scale in a capital-efficient manner. We look at a few key variables. We look at capital efficiency, gross margins based on our Wright’s Law work, and autonomous driving. We set probabilities to each of those that help us arrive at that $7,000 mark. 

    Our bulk case is really driven by autonomous driving. This could be a huge opportunity for Tesla. It’s going to totally transform the business model if they pull it off. They’re going to get software like margins in a market that we think could be worth trillions of dollars globally. 

    Tesla’s In a Great Position To Be the Leader of the Future

    Tesla’s been misinterpreted for a long time. One, on the autonomous driving front. You can’t value it like a traditional automaker because the future of the auto industry is changing. Electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles are going to make this a more consolidated market. A lot of automakers are going to go out of business and Tesla’s really in a great position to take advantage and be the leader of the future.

    So again, if you look at autonomous driving that means software like multiples because we think they’ll get software like margins off of that business.

    Report: Potential Tesla Valuation of $2.7 Trillion by 2024
  • Harman CEO Sees Critical Need For 5G Standards And Vehicle Automation

    Harman CEO Sees Critical Need For 5G Standards And Vehicle Automation

    In an interview with CNBC Harman International Industries CEO Dinesh Paliwal discussed the importance of 5G standards, as well as vehicle automation.

    “We need standardization. We need clear regulatory framework which cuts across states and countries.

    “Imagine Europe. If Germany, France, Italy, they all want to have their own standards. We need one standard, just like internet. And I think this has to happen, otherwise you cannot take advantage.”

    Paliwal then compared the industry to cars and made the point that car makers are not going to each come up with their own algorithm and teach their cars to driver completely differently. There has to be a standard by which everyone abides.

    “So 5G standards are absolutely necessary. I will tell you that China is actually taking a lead in that. They are launching and developing standards. But we have a lot of work to do in North America, as well as Europe. I hope in Asia Singapore will also lead that. We’ve always been on the cutting edge.”

    When asked how long until mass scale autonomous vehicles arrive, Paliwal replied:

    “So two things: You said the key word ‘mass scale.’ The technology is here. If you want to run in Austin, Texas; or Singapore; or Munich, you can run two to three years from now, fully autonomous vehicles literally a meter apart.

    “But to really launch that in Taipan, Bangkok, in Shanghai, in Mumbai, we are at least five to ten years away. Because, think about it, we [have] almost a billion cars on the road today. And according to the definition, they’re not the smart cars, they’re the dumb cars. So you need to…either retrofit these cars, which is extremely challenging, or you have to have the whole new generation of cars, which is ten years away.

    “So what I’m excited about is not just autonomous, [but] the automation in the car which significantly improves the safety aspect. As you know, the U.S. alone lost last year $1.5 trillion GDP due to car related accidents and productivity loss. If you can cut it by half, we’re talking 1.5% of GDP to be added back to the U.S.

    “So its a massive gain from 5G and autonomous, but automation will be the important thing.”

  • California Welcomes Driverless Delivery Vehicles

    California Welcomes Driverless Delivery Vehicles

    KRCR News is reporting that California has opened the doors to driverless delivery vehicles, provided they receive a permit from the DMV.

    According to the report, “the Office of Administrative Law approved revised regulations on Monday that will allow companies with a DMV permit to operate autonomous delivery vehicles weighing less than 10,001 pounds.”

    Permits will be issued for autonomous vehicles both with and without a backup safety driver. Driverless delivery vehicles will have to follow the same guidelines and standards as autonomous passenger vehicles. The DMV is expected to begin approving applications within 30 days.

    The change in regulation is a welcome win for the autonomous vehicle market. If the tests and deployments are successful in California, it will be hard for critics to make valid arguments against their safety and practicality in other jurisdictions.