Self-driving cars are simply too innovative and new for the U.S. government to handle. That is why autonomous cars are still not road legal, despite safety efforts and data presented by major U.S. car companies, such as Tesla, Ford and Mercedes. However, a few industry leaders have joined forces in an effort to legalize self-driving vehicles once and for all. Ford, Google, Volvo, Uber and Lyft have founded the Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets. They hope to raise safety awareness for self-driving cars, as well as the impact they would have on society. But wait, where is Tesla in all this? And why isn’t Mercedes involved either? Could there be some evil plot against the two self-driving giants? It is no secret that Tesla and Mercedes has a different view of what the future of autonomous cars should look like.
Ford, Google and Uber Coalition Against Tesla
The Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets may be great for the auto industry’s future. Especially since the U.S. government is still unsure how to react to self-driving technology hitting the streets. The Google, Ford and Uber coalition will essentially advocate for federal laws that would move self-driving cars from garages to the streets of Everywhere, America.
Tesla In Bed with U.S. Government?
It is surprising to see Tesla left out of the coalition. Perhaps Elon Musk’s ties to the U.S. government go deeper than we all thought. Besides, Tesla can let Google, Ford and Uber do all the heavy lifting while Musk builds space ships in an effort to colonize Mars. After all, most of the SpaceX funding came from NASA. Roughly $400 to $500 million of it actually. This may be the reason why Tesla has been shunned from the Google, Ford and Uber coalition for a free self-driving car.
Mercedes Out Casted or Simply Doesn’t Care
Mercedes has some pretty impressive goals for its self-driving car line. They are focused on luxury with a touch of aesthetically pleasing designs for the sophisticated consumer. The Mercedes F 015 Luxury in Motion research car is absolutely stunning. Mercedes has definitely put the self-driving car into a new category. This may be placing a strain on the company’s relationship with the newly formed coalition. It will be interesting to see how well the coalition does do in its advocacy efforts with a stubborn government.
