For The Verge: AV fever has cooled off, but driverless cars aren’t going away
After years of multibillion-dollar investments, “just around the corner” promises of robotaxis, and predictions that today’s children might never need to learn to drive, 2022 ended with a hard wake-up call for the autonomous car industry.
High-profile crashes made headlines instead of big technological leaps. Major companies raised the white flag and retreated from the effort. And the demise of respected tech leader Argo AI left investors and industry officials alike wondering if they can’t do it, who can?
But even with a newfound understanding that driverless cars are years or even decades away, automakers and tech companies alike are still aiming for that goal. And big investments in driverless technology are being made, proving that autonomous vehicles remain a priority even in a weak capital environment and an uncertain economy.
