Alphabet's Autonomous Dreams Shattered

State of California makes it tough for autonomous cars to hit the roads

Alphabet Inc. is likely to be very upset since the state of California has come up with safety regulations for the very first time in history targeting driverless cars. The new regulations were drafted by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), where they have set certain barriers while driving the autonomous cars. Google Car venture is one of the aspiring projects of the company that is now prone to vulnerabilities now.

DMV at this point of time is extremely concerned about safety. According to them, autonomous car manufacturers need to conduct more tests and experiences before they are ready to offer these cars to the masses. In compliance with the present precautionary measures, the state has now put a ban on driverless cars to be driven on roads. In case anyone wants to ride in these cars then they need to have a human driver that possesses a valid driving license.

According to the proposal, the autonomous cars will be required to pass a test that will be administered by a third party before being retailed. The companies cannot really conduct any outright sales thus the automotive giants can actually lease the cars but not sell them outright. Moreover, the automotive manufacturers will be required to submit a safety report on monthly bases. They will be also required to reveal any collected information so that they can counter any present cyber attacks.

The cars produced need to have a steering that is visible with pedals and wheels. The driver in such cars also needs to get his hand on a state produced “autonomous vehicle operator certificate,” so in case its required, the driver will take charge of the wheels as per need. The driver will also be liable to comply to the traffic legislation even if the car is autonomous.

The requirements prescribed are a major area of concern for the search engine giant. The company after immense efforts and hardware has finally come up with a car prototype however this seems like a crucial start filled with a lot of miseries. The state of California laws are quite complex that will be tough for Google to comply to.

Johnny Luu, a spokesperson from Alphabet published a written statement according to which, In a written statement, “Safety is our highest priority and primary motivator as we do this. We’re gravely disappointed that California is already writing a ceiling on the potential for fully self-driving cars to help all of us who live here.”

Bidness Autos - Why Tesla Cannot Reign Over The Autonomous Car Industry

Tesla has ample competition in store that can halt their growth in the autonomous car domain.

Mr. Elon Musk, the chief executive officer of Tesla Motors Inc. has been a staunch advocate of autonomous car technology. This technology is said to be a massive breakthrough in the automotive sector where the electric car maker is extremely positive to cash the scenario. Previously in March, Mr. Elon Musk during a NVIDIA Corporation event mentioned to the chief executive officer of the firm Mr. Jen Hsun Huang that the conventional driving methodologies will be outlawed in the coming twenty years since autonomous cars will take over.

According to Mr. Musk, Tesla Motors will play a significant role in boosting the autonomous car sector. In order to do so, the company recently announced an autopilot feature that will be possible through Over the Air software for the complete Model S series.

Despite the fact that Tesla Motors is a pioneer in the field of autonomous car technology and the technology they wish to come up is said to be one of a kind but even then some Wall Street analysts believe that the company is likely to face competition when considering the future cars. Moreover, Mr. Elon Musk was also hurt by the recent report compiled by Goldman Sachs according to which the fiscal year of 2017 will be a “watershed year” for the autonomous car technology where Tesla Motors will certainly not be a key player in that.

Tesla Motors that is said to be a pioneer in the automotive industry for its autonomous technology is expected to lag behind the tech behemoths that already have a stronger position before the launch. Google Inc. is said to be relatively ahead of Tesla in terms of its autonomous car dreams.

Apparently Tesla has not been doing fairly well and has been reporting losses since a relatively long span of time. However, the company is taking several initiatives to get back on track and start making money. The goals of Mr. Musk are extremely ambitious and have established the company’s position as a key player in terms of providing clean technology in the times to come through its Gigafactory that will cost them around $5 billion. Irrespective of the fact that the company is all set to build the largest lithium ion battery across the globe in Reno Naveda, analysts at Goldman Sachs still believe that the company will still remain far behind their competitors.

Hence, in a nutshell, autonomous cars were said to be a game changer for the company but now this also seems a bit hard for them to achieve their dream.