#autonomous-driving

#autonomous-driving

I opened the discussion by admitting that I have reversed my long-standing negative view on Ford and General Motors. Lee immediately agreed, pointing out that GM has been one of the strongest-performing auto stocks this year. The reason is simple. The EV growth narrative has cooled, and the market is refocusing on what actually sells cars in the United States.

For months, Tesla's robotaxis in Austin and San Francisco have included safety monitors with access to a kill switch in case of emergency - a fallback that Waymo currently doesn't need for its commercial robotaxi service. The safety monitor sits in the passenger seat in Austin, and in the driver seat in San Francisco. Neither service is fully open to the public yet, relying instead on customer waitlists.

I wake up between 6:30 and 7 a.m. I don't use an alarm clock because I hate them. The first thing I do is turn on the "Today" show, grab my phone, and have a cup of black coffee. Everyone says, "Don't get right on your phone in the morning," but I love getting on my phone for at least 30 minutes to check emails and catch up.

"We believe there are synergies shared between the development of autonomous driving and physical AI," the company said in its third-quarter shareholder letter. "Mind Robotics will focus on the advancement of industrial AI to reshape how physical world businesses operate and leverage Rivian operations data as the foundation for a robotics data flywheel." It added that the kind of "AI-enabled robotics" it plans to build "can support a wide range of industrial applications."

It's a lot, and it all comes against the backdrop of President Trump's trade wars, tariffs, and the expiring EV tax credit here in the United States, all of which have really upended the car business. Just last week, the day before I talked to Mary and Sterling, GM took a $1.6 billion writedown on its EV business against falling demand.

GM announced that "eyes-off" highway driving is coming to its electric Cadillac Escalade SUV in 2028. The company is also integrating Google Gemini and conversational AI into its vehicles next year. GM said its eyes-off technology will allow drivers to read or respond to texts, and relies on LiDAR technology.

I was driving on Main Street in Dallastown, PA, and the route was about to take me left onto Pleasant Avenue. It is a tight and usually very congested intersection; Main Street is a popular route for many construction vehicles and even some tractor-trailers. It is a pretty tight intersection for full-size trucks and larger passenger vehicles. It is not super tight for my Model Y, but it gets to feel congested at times, including with what happened yesterday.

The company closed 2024 with a turnover of USD 962 million, with 64% of revenues coming from exports, confirming its role as both a leading Turkish bus manufacturer - a position it has held for 16 consecutive years - and an increasingly significant player in Europe. More than 68,000 Otokar buses are now in operation in over 60 countries, with Spain, France, and Italy representing its largest European markets.