Autonomous

When you think of autonomous cars, the city of Auburndale, Fla., doesn’t come to mind. All of that is expected to change in the coming years.

At the beginning of the year, efforts to put driverless cars on California’s streets looked like they were careening.

Tesla Inc. is finally ready to introduce its first all-electric heavy-duty truck. In the works for two years, it’s a project that’s aimed squarely at cleaning up the freight industry, which accounts for one-fifth of global oil demand.

Truck driving — one of the most in-demand and stable jobs in Ohio — could face major changes as the industry develops new automated, driverless technology.

China’s Tencent Holdings has developed its own autonomous driving system, according to people familiar with the matter, becoming the latest technology player to dive into a crowded field that could become a $42 billion industry.

What is a trade secret? That seemingly simple question dominated discussions Nov. 14 during a federal court hearing on Waymo vs. Uber, one of the last pretrial sessions before the case, which could shape the future of autonomous vehicles, heads to a jury on Dec 4.

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has promised to unveil an electric semi-truck on Nov. 16 that will drive like a sports car and beat its diesel counterpart in a tug of war. “This will blow your mind clear out of your skull and into an alternate dimension,” he wrote on Twitter this week. But none of that really matters.

Uber is working on a fleet of self-driving semi-trucks, but it won’t completely replace traditional drivers, the company said.

WASHINGTON — Developing a singular autonomous vehicle policy nationwide would facilitate testing of automated trucks and connected vehicle technologies, a senior official with American Trucking Associations said Nov. 9.