The autonomous vehicle industry has faced increased scrutiny following high-profile incidents, including problems faced by robotaxi firm Cruise in California, which was forced to recall its fleet after a serious incident involving a pedestrian. Tesla also faced controversy over its Autopilot system, which was involved in hundreds of crashes, leading to a recall of over two million vehicles. Robert Falck, CEO of Swedish autonomous driving company Einride AB, criticized the industry for being "ungrounded in reality" and emphasized the need for companies to roll out autonomous vehicles incrementally.
Key takeaways:
- Laura Majors, CTO of Hyundai subsidiary Motional, stated at the World Economic Forum that while autonomous vehicles could have significant societal benefits, it may be challenging for the industry to convince the public that they are not a threat.
- Motional has reportedly operated more than 2 million miles autonomously without any at-fault crashes, but Majors believes the industry still needs to "raise the bar" in terms of safety.
- Autonomous vehicles have faced increased scrutiny following high-profile incidents, including Cruise's recall of its entire fleet in California due to safety concerns and Tesla's controversy over its "Autopilot" system.
- Robert Falck, CEO of Swedish autonomous driving company Einride AB, argued that the industry has been unrealistic and has struggled to align the maturity of the technology with societal expectations. He suggested companies should prioritize incremental rollouts of autonomous vehicles.