Driverless Dreams Hit a Red Light, But the Money's Still Moving
Well, who could have possibly seen this coming? A self-driving car gets into a scrape, and suddenly the regulators, who’ve been snoozing in the back seat, wake up and grab the steering wheel. The recent fuss over a Waymo vehicle has sent a jolt through the autonomous vehicle industry. To me, it’s not a crisis. It’s a long overdue reality check. For years, we’ve been sold a utopian vision of robotaxis whisking us about while we nap. The reality, it seems, is a bit more bogged down in the tedious business of not running people over.
For investors, this sudden outbreak of common sense is fascinating. It fundamentally changes where the smart money ought to be looking. The game is no longer about which flashy brand will be the first to launch a fully driverless fleet. That’s a mug’s game. The real opportunity, I think, now lies with the companies making the boring but essential bits.