In this episode of Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo’s new EMMA model (End-to-End Multimodal Model) for Autonomous Driving, their increased weekly ridership and how a shortage of skilled mechanics and technicians could slow down the growth of the Waymo One service.

As Waymo grows their service, Zoox is now preparing to join the party and launch a robotaxi service in both San Francisco and Las Vegas next year. While Zoox is about to join the robotaxi party, Tesla and their desire to launch a robotaxi service continues to divide the public and the market.

Episode Chapters 0:00 Waymo 3:02 Autonomous Vehicle Mechanics 5:46 Uber 11:20 Pricing Waymo One 14:53 Economy 18:12 Waymo EMMA model (End-to-End Multimodal Model) Paper 21:53 Tesla Shade 27:28 Zoox 31:41 Aurora Delays Driver Out Until April 2025 38:45 Lyft 39:36 WeRide

The Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.

Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

LightShed Partners is a leading independent research firm focused on the convergence of technology, media, and telecommunications. Known for its forward-thinking insights, LightShed Partners provides in-depth analysis on trends, disruptions, and innovations shaping these industries, offering clients data-driven research to inform investment decisions. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for research here.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The LightShed Podcast, released every Friday, delivers cutting-edge insights into the world of technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT), focusing on key trends and disruptions shaping the future of these industries. Each episode explores topics like streaming services, social media, digital transformation, and the future of entertainment technology. Closely followed by key decision-makers in the TMT industries, this podcast provides actionable analysis for investors, industry professionals, and tech enthusiasts. Subscribe to the LightShed Podcast for expert commentary on market trends, investment opportunities, and insights driving the TMT sector forward. For access to this paywalled podcast email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠team@lightshedtmt.com

In this episode of Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the opening of the autonomy IPO market and investors increasing desire to own autonomous vehicle companies.

On October 23rd, Tesla’s stock rallied 20% following earnings that beat the street and Elon Musk’s continued commentary about Tesla’s robotaxi ambitions. WeRide completed its NASDAQ IPO raising $440M on October 25th, the same day Waymo announced a massive $5.6B funding round led by Alphabet with participation from Tiger Global and Sliver Lake.

Episode Chapters 0:00 Capital Markets are Open 3:07 Tesla Robotaxi Service in Palo Alto? 5:43 The Interrelationships and Risks of the Elon Musk Companies 10:43 WeRide IPO 19:37 Waymo's Latest Funding Round 23:17 Lucid is Finding Out Autonomy is Hard 29:40 Wayve 32:02 Cruise Goes Driverless in Houston 33:16 Uber 37:02 Next Week

The Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.

Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

LightShed Partners is a leading independent research firm focused on the convergence of technology, media, and telecommunications. Known for its forward-thinking insights, LightShed Partners provides in-depth analysis on trends, disruptions, and innovations shaping these industries, offering clients data-driven research to inform investment decisions. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for research here.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The LightShed Podcast, released every Friday, delivers cutting-edge insights into the world of technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT), focusing on key trends and disruptions shaping the future of these industries. Each episode explores topics like streaming services, social media, digital transformation, and the future of entertainment technology. Closely followed by key decision-makers in the TMT industries, this podcast provides actionable analysis for investors, industry professionals, and tech enthusiasts. Subscribe to the LightShed Podcast for expert commentary on market trends, investment opportunities, and insights driving the TMT sector forward. For access to this paywalled podcast email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠team@lightshedtmt.com

In this episode of Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the details emerging from Tesla’s robotaxi unveiling at We, Robot. Tesla’s robotaxi is projected to have a 200-mile range with FSD 13 powering Full Self-Driving Unsupervised.

Could FSD 13 be Tesla’s breakthrough autonomy moment? Or will it be a later version of FSD? Later the conversation shifts to the emerging news about Uber’s potential acquisition of Expedia and what that acquisition would mean to both the travel and autonomy markets.

The IPO market for autonomy is heating up, as Horizon Robotics has filled for an IPO on the Hong Kong Exchange and Pony AI is preparing for a U.S. listing. Could this be a sign of things to come?

Episode Chapters

• 0:00 We, Robot
• 15:39 Autonomy Use Cases
• 18:48 Horizon Robotics and Pony.AI IPOs
• 24:46 Potential; Uber / Expedia Deal
• 33:24 Lyft Makes a Move?
• 40:06 Next Week

The Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.

Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/⁠⁠⁠⁠

LightShed Partners is a leading independent research firm focused on the convergence of technology, media, and telecommunications. Known for its forward-thinking insights, LightShed Partners provides in-depth analysis on trends, disruptions, and innovations shaping these industries, offering clients data-driven research to inform investment decisions. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for research here.⁠⁠⁠⁠

The LightShed Podcast, released every Friday, delivers cutting-edge insights into the world of technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT), focusing on key trends and disruptions shaping the future of these industries. Each episode explores topics like streaming services, social media, digital transformation, and the future of entertainment technology. Closely followed by key decision-makers in the TMT industries, this podcast provides actionable analysis for investors, industry professionals, and tech enthusiasts. Subscribe to the LightShed Podcast for expert commentary on market trends, investment opportunities, and insights driving the TMT sector forward. For access to this paywalled podcast email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠team@lightshedtmt.com

In this episode of Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Tesla’s We Robot event, an event that Grayson has dubbed as “Autonomy Disneyland” and the markets mixed market reaction.

While the We Robot event was impressive and Disneyesque, it fell short on providing concrete details about timelines, financial projections, and technological progress in Tesla’s development of full self-driving (FSD). The lack of substantive details led to an 8% drop in Tesla’s stock price, while Uber and Lyft’ stocks gained on no further details about Tesla’s proposed robotaxi network service.

Overall, the We Robot event was impressive. Cybercab, Robovan are Tesla’s vision for an autonomous future. Optimus is getting closer to moving into homes, and we suspect Tesla has something else up there sleeves.

Episode Chapters

• 0:00 Optimus (Robots)
• 2:35 Full Self-Driving (FSD)
• 9:40 Cybercab
• 19:24 Uber & Lyft
• 26:12 Does Amazon Integrate Zoox into a Prime Mobility Tier?
• 28:33 Inductive Charging
• 32:56 Autonomy Disneyland
• 34:54 Next Week

The Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.

Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/⁠⁠⁠

LightShed Partners is a leading independent research firm focused on the convergence of technology, media, and telecommunications. Known for its forward-thinking insights, LightShed Partners provides in-depth analysis on trends, disruptions, and innovations shaping these industries, offering clients data-driven research to inform investment decisions. ⁠⁠⁠Sign up for research here.⁠⁠⁠

The LightShed Podcast, released every Friday, delivers cutting-edge insights into the world of technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT), focusing on key trends and disruptions shaping the future of these industries. Each episode explores topics like streaming services, social media, digital transformation, and the future of entertainment technology. Closely followed by key decision-makers in the TMT industries, this podcast provides actionable analysis for investors, industry professionals, and tech enthusiasts. Subscribe to the LightShed Podcast for expert commentary on market trends, investment opportunities, and insights driving the TMT sector forward. For access to this paywalled podcast email: ⁠⁠⁠team@lightshedtmt.com

In this episode of Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Tesla's highly anticipated 10/10 We Robot event and what could be announced. Could Optimus have a friend? Could Tesla introduce Full Self-Driving (Supervised) for Tesla Semi? Will the robotaxi be a two passenger vehicle? There are lots of questions that will be answered next week live on the Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, CA. As Tesla is poised to potentially change the market, Waymo has begun their early rider program in Austin, Texas in a 37 square mile ODD. Next up for early rider, Atlanta. We expect Waymo to begin Atlanta early rider access in November 2024. Then there is Zoox which announced a new partnership with the Vegas Golden Knights and delayed their Vegas robotaxi launch until 2025 as part of the announcement. Wrapping up the episode, Grayson and Walter discuss Xiaodi Hou's new start-up, Bot Auto and Uber Freight's growing role in the autonomous trucking ecosystem. Episode Chapters 0:00 10/10 Tesla We Robot Event 1:50 Venture Capitalists and Wall Street's Outlook on Autonomy Investments 5:25 Perhaps a Two Passenger Tesla Robotaxi? 7:06 Tesla Semi 10:14 Waymo's Increased Testing of the Zeekr Vehicle 13:18 California's Autonomous Vehicle Bills Vetoed 18:20 Waymo Begins Early Rider Access in Austin 20:51 Zoox / Golden Knights Partnership 25:25 AVRide 26:43 Sidewalk Delivery Bots 30:12 Bot Auto 33:38 Next Week The Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.

Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: ⁠⁠https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/⁠⁠

LightShed Partners is a leading independent research firm focused on the convergence of technology, media, and telecommunications. Known for its forward-thinking insights, LightShed Partners provides in-depth analysis on trends, disruptions, and innovations shaping these industries, offering clients data-driven research to inform investment decisions. ⁠⁠Sign up for research here.⁠⁠

The LightShed Podcast, released every Friday, delivers cutting-edge insights into the world of technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT), focusing on key trends and disruptions shaping the future of these industries. Each episode explores topics like streaming services, social media, digital transformation, and the future of entertainment technology. Closely followed by key decision-makers in the TMT industries, this podcast provides actionable analysis for investors, industry professionals, and tech enthusiasts. Subscribe to the LightShed Podcast for expert commentary on market trends, investment opportunities, and insights driving the TMT sector forward. For access to this paywalled podcast email: ⁠⁠team@lightshedtmt.com

In this episode of Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the U.S. Commerce Department’s proposed ruling to prohibit the sale or import of vehicles that have hardware and software integrated into the vehicle connectivity system (VCS) and software integrated into the Automated Driving System from China and Russia. They explored the potential impact of the proposed rule and what the broader implications for trade relations could be in the future.

Later the conversation delves into Waymo’s LA expansion and Grayson predicts Waymo will open the service to all members of the public within the next two months. As Waymo prepares to open the service to the public in LA, Grayson and Walter examine the communication strategies of autonomous vehicle companies, making the case for more transparent and frequent updates to build public support and investor confidence.

As investor hype is building as we get closer to Tesla’s “We Robot” event on October 10th, could GM try and get ahead of Tesla’s 10/10 event and make an announcement at GM investor day on 10/8 about a potential personally owned autonomous vehicle?

Wrapping up the episode, Grayson and Walter debate the decision by Apple to shut down Project Titan.

Episode Chapters

0:00 U.S. Commerce Department Proposed Autonomous Vehicle Ruling

4:10 Upcoming Autonomous Vehicle Policy Hearings in Texas

8:44 Uber / WeRide Partnership

11:13 Zoox

16:53 Waymo’s LA Expansion

19:52 Airport Pickups in Autonomous Vehicles

22:18 Autonomous Vehicle Media Strategies

26:16 Shrinking LiDAR Market

28:12 Tesla’s 10/10 We Robot Invites Are Out

29:53 GM Investor Day on 10/8

33:06 Jony Ive & Apple

36:02 Augmented Reality in Autonomous Vehicles

39:37 Next Week

The Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.

Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: ⁠https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/⁠

LightShed Partners is a leading independent research firm focused on the convergence of technology, media, and telecommunications. Known for its forward-thinking insights, LightShed Partners provides in-depth analysis on trends, disruptions, and innovations shaping these industries, offering clients data-driven research to inform investment decisions. ⁠Sign up for research here.⁠

The LightShed Podcast, released every Friday, delivers cutting-edge insights into the world of technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT), focusing on key trends and disruptions shaping the future of these industries. Each episode explores topics like streaming services, social media, digital transformation, and the future of entertainment technology. Closely followed by key decision-makers in the TMT industries, this podcast provides actionable analysis for investors, industry professionals, and tech enthusiasts. Subscribe to the LightShed Podcast for expert commentary on market trends, investment opportunities, and insights driving the TMT sector forward. For access to this paywalled podcast email: ⁠team@lightshedtmt.com

In this episode of Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo’s potential pivot away from Zeekr to Hyundai, Zoox’s commercialization strategy and why Uber is the platform for autonomy.

Waymo’s potential deal with Hyundai for the IONIQ 5 platform could mark the end of Waymo’s deal with Zeekr, ending what we have termed an unforced error. If Waymo is indeed abandoning the Chinese made Zeekr, could there be a broader shakeout of Chinese technology in the autonomous vehicle industry?

Then there is Zoox which is operating in a secretive manner as they prepare to launch commercial operations “soon”. Could Zoox’s secretive approach potentially lead to potential consequences because of their lack of transparency with both the market and consumers?

To accelerate the adoption of autonomous vehicles, Congress needs to pass an Autonomous Vehicle National Framework that incudes trucks weighing over 10,000 pounds to accelerate the autonomous vehicle adoption and investment in the United States. A national autonomous vehicle framework will unlock investment that will lead to economic growth.

Walt and Grayson also explore the potential catalysts that could drive faster autonomous vehicle adoption, including consumer experiences, economic pressures, and the upcoming U.S. election. Throughout the discussion, they stress the importance of pushing for more aggressive expansion into challenging environments to truly advance the technology and gain public trust.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Waymo in San Francisco

6:44 Zoox

14:37 Waymo / Hyundai

18:48 Autonomy Economy

25:02 Autonomy and Elections

27:22 Autonomous Vehicle Experiences

29:19 Investing in Autonomous Vehicles

21:23 Next Week

Recorded on September 19, 2024

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The Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.

Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/

LightShed Partners is a leading independent research firm focused on the convergence of technology, media, and telecommunications. Known for its forward-thinking insights, LightShed Partners provides in-depth analysis on trends, disruptions, and innovations shaping these industries, offering clients data-driven research to inform investment decisions. Sign up for research here.

The LightShed Podcast, released every Friday, delivers cutting-edge insights into the world of technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT), focusing on key trends and disruptions shaping the future of these industries. Each episode explores topics like streaming services, social media, digital transformation, and the future of entertainment technology. Closely followed by key decision-makers in the TMT industries, this podcast provides actionable analysis for investors, industry professionals, and tech enthusiasts. Subscribe to the LightShed Podcast for expert commentary on market trends, investment opportunities, and insights driving the TMT sector forward. For access to this paywalled podcast email: team@lightshedtmt.com

In this episode of Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the latest developments in the autonomous vehicle industry, drawing insights from Grayson's recent trip to Silicon Valley.

There is an emerging shift towards developing autonomous driving stacks and licensing the technology to OEMs and mobility platform providers. Nuro is embracing this trend as they announced their new business models this week.

As the autonomous vehicle business models change, consumer exceptions are changing in parallel. There is an increasing focus on premium experiences in autonomy as both startups and global OEMs begin to develop plans for personally owned autonomous vehicles.

While the best laid plans often go awry, this time around OEMs are learning from the mistakes that they made when they jumped two feet into electrification with no real consumer strategy and no EV supply chain strategy.

With growing competition from Chinese autonomous vehicle companies, U.S. based autonomous vehicle companies are beginning to focus on costs. As they focus on costs, the debate around LiDAR and if it's needed to develop an SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicle continues to rage.

Wrapping up the episode, Grayson and Walt discuss the latest buzz surrounding the autonomous vehicle industry including potential pivots and partnerships in the industry.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Back from Silicon Valley

3:41 Nuro

5:08 California's 33% Commercial Insurance Fee for Rideshare Rides

9:17 Personally Owned Autonomous Vehicles

16:34 Mobility Platforms

21:42 Experiences

25:10 California Business Climate

26:29 Safety

30:59 Regulatory Environment

36:09 Impact of a Potential Alphabet Breakup on Waymo

38:56 The Latest Autonomous Vehicle Buzz

Recorded on September 12, 2024

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The Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.

Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/

LightShed Partners is a leading independent research firm focused on the convergence of technology, media, and telecommunications. Known for its forward-thinking insights, LightShed Partners provides in-depth analysis on trends, disruptions, and innovations shaping these industries, offering clients data-driven research to inform investment decisions. Sign up for research here.

The LightShed Podcast, released every Friday, delivers cutting-edge insights into the world of technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT), focusing on key trends and disruptions shaping the future of these industries. Each episode explores topics like streaming services, social media, digital transformation, and the future of entertainment technology. Closely followed by key decision-makers in the TMT industries, this podcast provides actionable analysis for investors, industry professionals, and tech enthusiasts. Subscribe to the LightShed Podcast for expert commentary on market trends, investment opportunities, and insights driving the TMT sector forward. For access to this paywalled podcast email: team@lightshedtmt.com