Nobody really knows for sure, but the figure of £87 billion is currently being touted as the amount spent to date in the pursuit of developing fully self-driving Cars, the likes of which we have been assured are 'just a few years away' for at least a decade now. And which, beyond a few prototypes, largely remain 'just a few years away'.
In business terms, the investment was justified on the promise of huge returns, with Intel – admittedly set to profit from investment in the sector – once estimating that the self-driving industry would be worth £6 trillion by 2050. Societally, the nirvana was accident-free transport, with the added bonuses of freeing-up huge amounts of time and massively easing congestion by ensuring that vehicles spent more time being used than parked.
Now, for some, investment is being rowed back more quickly than an autonomous car can detect a potential accident, the biggest shock coming when
Jim_Holder please god
Jim_Holder The self drivining industry just needs to get rid of people like Dan O'Dowd and have more healthier competitions than frivilous smear campaigns that only cost his company money & tarnish his reputation.
Jim_Holder Personally, I've always considered them as something of a blind alley, and an answer to a question that no one was really asking (apart from the industry itself).