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Why Tesla’s Autopilot and Google’s Self-Driving Car Are Two Entirely Different Animals
Brad Ideas/Brad Templeton
GM Takes D20 Over 160
Driverless Transportation
The Driverless Transportation (D20) Stock Index broke the 160 barrier for the first time ever, finishing at 160.77 last week. For the fourth consecutive week, the D20’s 2.9 percent gain outpaced the 2.5 percent gain in the Dow Jones Industrials and the 2.1 percent rise in the S&P 500 Index. The D20 saw 17 stocks finishing higher while three declined.
This week’s largest loser was Tesla (TSLA) down 7.9 percent on news that Consumer Reports held back its rating on the Model S owing to reliability concerns. Tesla finished the week at $209.09, its lowest point since mid-April 2015. On the driverless front, Tesla announced the release of its Autopilot update for the Model S. The reviews of the software update for existing cars are mostly positive, but some users have complained that the Model S takes turns too fast in Autopilot mode.
On the bright side, General Motors (GM) posted its fourth consecutive weekly gain by adding 8.5 percent and ending the week at $35.95 a share. Most of the jump was due to GM’s surprisingly positive third-quarter earnings announcement. GM has adopted a quiet but aggressive plan to develop “self-driving” cars.
Other D20 stocks that put in strong showings last week were Alphabet (GOOG) up 6.0 percent, Continental (CTTAY) up 6.9 percent, Magna (MGA) up 6.0 percent, and Valeo (VLEEY) up 6.2 percent.
Visit the Driverless Transportation D20 Stock Index page to learn more about it and its component stocks
Hackers a threat to driverless cars
IOL Motoring
University of Michigan Sustainable Worldwide Transportation
The study, Potential Impact of Self-Driving Vehicles on Household Vehicle Demand and Usage has been released by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, sponsored by the University of Michigan Sustainable Worldwide Transportation. The study is by Brandon Schoettle and Michael Sivak.
As noted in the abstract, the report presents an analysis of the potential for reduced vehicle ownership within households based on sharing of completely self-driving vehicles that employ a “return-to-home” mode, acting as a form of shared family or household vehicle. An examination of the latest U.S. National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) data shows a general lack of trip overlap between drivers within a majority of households, opening up the possibility for a significant reduction in average vehicle ownership per household based on vehicle sharing.
Click here to read an abstract of the study. Please contact Michael Sivak at sivak@umich.edu for a copy of the full report.