This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discussed Tesla’s Q4 earnings, Waymo’s road trip and Kodiak’s historical announcement . It was Tesla this week that captured investors attention as Elon Musk spoke at length about Tesla’s robotaxi plans, licensing FSD and their plans to launch an Airbnb like service for autonomy. Will Tesla really hit the June 2025 timeline for unsupervised autonomy in Austin, Texas? Anything is possible, but the precedent is that the launch will be delayed, along with a potential nationwide expansion in 2026. Then there is the potential to license FSD (Full Self-Driving), will Tesla really do it and what will the impact be on the global auto industry? As Tesla works towards full autonomy (unsupervised), Waymo continues to expand. This week Waymo announced that they are taking roadtrips to 10+ markets beginning with San Diego and Las Vegas this year, along with opening the Atlanta market to employees. Additionally, Waymo began offering highway service to employees in Los Angeles. Then there is Kodiak, which made history this week, becoming the first company to sell an autonomous truck to a third party—Atlas Energy. The episode concludes with discussion of Zoox’s challenges in the competitive autonomous vehicle market, particularly in Las Vegas and San Francisco. Episode Chapters 0:00 Secretary Sean Duffy 2:59 Washington Post: If Self-Driving Cars are Safer than the Alternative, What’s to Lose? 7:02 Tesla Q4 2024 Earnings 9:28 FSD Unsupervised Launch 13:58 Capital Markets & Analysts 16:48 LiDAR Narrative 21:30 Licensing Tesla FSD 26:20 FSD is Coming to Semi 28:51 Kodiak Makes History 31:28 Tesla Cortex Training Cluster 32:32 Waymo Goes Fully Autonomous on LA Freeways (Employees Only) 35:21 Waymo Opens Atlanta to Employees 37:29 Waymo’s 10 City Road Trip 41:06 Zoox 45:06 Super Bowl 46:09 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:
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