Alliances are forming. Competitors are bulking up. The gloves are coming off.
There are accusations of subterfuge. Last week, U.S. District Judge William Alsup slapped restrictions on ride-hailing giant Uber’s driverless car research in a trade secrets civil lawsuit filed by archfoe Waymo, Google's autonomous car project.
There are hints of criminality. The same judge recently referred Waymo's allegations that Uber stole its proprietary technology to the U.S. Department of Justice for investigation.
There are questions of commitment. Even as nearly every automaker positions itself for a future of self-driving cars, the board of Ford is putting pressure on Chief Executive Mark Fields to justify his big bet on the driverless future, implying some think it might not be worth the financial risk.
The driverless economy is one few economic sectors with huge growth potential, now that the bloom is fading on consumer electronics.
