Michael Morris, Director of Transportation, North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) and Nick Konen, Director of Strategic Development, Hillwood joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how Texas is building the future of autonomous freight and supply chains. 

AllianceTexas Smart Port in North Texas represents a groundbreaking vision for the future of freight and logistics, combining advanced infrastructure with automation and autonomy. Located at one of America’s largest inland ports, the development features 60 million square feet of existing warehouse space, with another 60 million planned over the next 30 years. 

The project leverages unique assets including the Alliance Airport handling 2.1 billion pounds of cargo annually, BNSF’s intermodal facility moving a million containers yearly, and strategic placement along I-35. Through a $80 million federal grant and $96 million in private investment, the Smart Port is implementing dedicated truck lanes, advanced sensor networks, and infrastructure designed for autonomous trucks.

Recorded on Thursday, December 19, 2024

Episode Chapters

0:00 AllianceTexas Smart Port

3:11 Planning for Growth

8:27 Texas Innovation

15:40 Warehouse Automation

18:58 Roadway Sensors

24:04 Dedicated Autonomous Truck Lanes

30:10 Automation Jobs

34:31 Freight Tunnels

36:57 Apprenticeships 

41:12 Economic Impact of AllianceTexas Smart Port

46:27 Future of Autonomy & Automation in North Texas

--------

About The Road to Autonomy

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/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the first episode of Autonomy Markets in 2025, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the ever-evolving landscape of autonomous vehicles and the growth of big tech. Waymo’s technical advancements and steady expansion made the company the clear leader in robotaxis in 2024. 

While Waymo cemented their role as the leader in robotaxis, Tesla is nipping at their heels as the company prepares to introduce a robotaxi service with the Cybercab. As Waymo and Tesla advanced in 2024, investors fears in Uber’s robotaxi strategy only escalated.

While investors fear Uber’s robotaxi prospects, investors cheered when GM shutdown Cruise. Was this the right move? Or this another example of traditional automakers being unable to innovate a create new tech forward products? All this and more on this week’s edition of Autonomy Markets. 

Episode Chapters

0:00 2025 Autonomy Markets Outlook

7:21 Share Buybacks 

9:07 Traditional Automotive OEMs 

15:07 Leaning into The Future

17:45 Tesla Q4 2024 Deliveries 

18:35 Tesla FSD (Full Self-Driving) Take Rates

22:25 Tesla Cybertruck/Trump Hotel Attack

25:21 Elon Musk’s Focus on Policy

27:36 Beijing Gives Green Light to Autonomous Vehicles 

30:46 Autonomy M&A

34:11 MAG 7

35:56 Waymo

37:32 Warning Triangles 

42:19 CES 2025

Recorded on Friday, January 3, 2025

--------

About The Road to Autonomy

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/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

David Liu, CEO & Co-Founder, Plus joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss Plus’ global vision for autonomous trucking.

Plus is taking a global approach to autonomous trucking as a technology enabler rather than a fleet operator with three global OEM partnerships with Traton Group, Hyundai Commercial Vehicle, and IVECO. These partnerships are enabling Plus to focus solely on building a virtual driver, while the partners develop and build the physical truck. 

Currently Plus is testing their autonomous driving software in the United States, Sweden, and Japan as they prepare for commercial operations in 2027 with their OEM partners. 

Recorded on Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Episode Chapters

0:00 Founding of Plus

2:55 Is 2025 The Year Autonomy Goes Mainstream?

5:24 Plus / Traton Partnership 

7:06 Plus / Hyundai Commercial Vehicle Partnership

8:38 Partnership Development 

12:09 Global Testing, Development and Operations

14:54 Data Models

17:06 Low Power / Small On-Board Hardware

23:53 Vision Only

27:28 Redundancy 

29:53 Developing and Maintaining Trust 

32:49 Plus Business Model

36:17 Advancements in AI 

41:09 Future of Plus

--------

About The Road to Autonomy

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/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Tesla FSD 13, autonomous trucking’s regularity roadblocks and Waymo’s path to offering service at theSan Francisco International (SFO) Airport. 

Tesla’s FSD 13 is as a major technical leap forward. While we have been impressed with its more natural driving style and improved responsiveness to traffic flow, it’s not ready for deployment on the Cybercab. 

Later the conversation shifts to recent government actions affecting the autonomous vehicle industry, including the Biden administration’s denial of warning triangle exemptions for autonomous trucks and the introduction of AVSTEP, a new voluntary reporting framework from NHTSA. 

The podcast concludes with an analysis of Waymo’s potential expansion to San Francisco International Airport and broader implications for autonomous vehicle deployments. 

Episode Chapters

0:00 Tesla FSD 13

15:21 Cybercab / FSD Driver-Out Predictions 

19:09 FMCSA Warning Triangle Exemptions 

26:33 AV STEP

33:20 DOGE

35:24 Scaling Autonomous Vehicles in China

38:35 Waymo is One Step Closer to SFO Deployment 

41:24 Waymo on Highways and Future Airport Deployments 

46:41 Light Mapping / No Mapping Approach to Autonomy

47:26 2025 Outlook

Recorded on Saturday December 28, 2024

--------

About The Road to Autonomy

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/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pete Bigelow, Senior Reporter, Automotive News joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss Detroit’s future in autonomy. When GM shutdown Cruise, did they end Detroit’s autonomous future?

GM has a pattern of getting to the one-yard line and fumbling with innovations like the EV1, skateboard architecture and now Cruise. As the fundamental challenges facing legacy automakers only increase, is Detroit on the verge of becoming Foxconn City?

GM’s decision making has direct parallels to IBM’s decline in tech innovation. Could GM be following the same path as IBM? Only time will tell, but serious questions remain about GM and Detroit’s ability to compete in an increasingly software-driven, autonomous automotive future.

Recorded on Monday, December 16, 2024

Episode Chapters

0:00 Detroit’s Future in Autonomy

5:22 Dan Ammann’s Cruise Strategy

9:49 December 16, 2024

12:22 Autonomy Tailwinds

14:20 User/Driver Experiences

17:37 Does Detroit Become Foxconn City?

19:58 Is GM Afraid of Change?

29:22 Is GM the new IBM?

35:30 Could Waymo License the Origin from GM?

39:47 Economics of Autonomous Vehicle Rides

41:57 LiDAR Market

45:04 Human in the Loop

--------

About The Road to Autonomy

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/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Apple’s potential return to the robotaxi market through Foxconn. If Foxconn is successful in acquiring Nissan, it would create a path for Apple to re-enter the autonomous vehicle sector. 

Rather than building their own autonomous driving system from the ground-up, Apple could partner with Wayve to power the autonomous system, while Foxconn could be the contract manufacturer to build the vehicle. This approach would mirror Apple’s historical approach of gradually developing in-house capabilities while initially relying on partners, as they did with iPhone modems and chips. 

Additionally this week, Waymo announced a road trip to Japan and Uber continues to develop their fleet strategy.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Waymo Heads to Japan

2:39 Waymo’s Zeekr Dilemma 

6:52 Masayoshi Son / Softbank

8:21 Could Apple Return to Autonomous Vehicles with Foxconn?

17:51 Uber’s Fleet Ambitions 

23:36 Are Uber’s Robotaxi Fears Overblown?

30:15 Pony AI’s Projected China Market Growth

32:41 Autonomous Vehicle Policy

36:36 Kodiak Deploys an Autonomous F-150 in the Snow

38:22 Next Week

Recorded on Wednesday, December 18, 2024

--------

About The Road to Autonomy

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/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Edwin Olson, Co-Founder & CEO, May Mobility joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss May Mobility’s strategic expansion into Japan through partnerships with Toyota and NTT and their plans to launch with Lyft in Atlanta in 2025.

May Mobility is focused on creating scalable, low-power autonomous vehicles that are profitable. One of the keys to May Mobility’s success so far has been their multi-policy decision making (MPDM) system that runs on the edge, primarily with CPUs instead of GPUs, requiring less compute power.

Recorded on Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Episode Chapters

0:00 May Mobility in Japan

3:11 May Mobility’s Approach to Autonomous Driving

7:23 Autonomous Driving Models (LLMs)

10:56 On-board Compute

14:23 Multi-Policy Decision Making (MPDM)

20:46 Japan Deployments 

24:25 Simulation 

26:16 MPDM on the Edge

29:12 Scaling May Mobility

34:57 Passenger Experience

42:24 Atlanta Expansion / Lyft Partnership

48:50 Freeways

52:33 Future of May Mobility

--------

About The Road to Autonomy

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/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the dramatic turn of events that led GM to abruptly shut down Cruise, just days before a planned driver-out launch in Houston. The decision made by CEO Mary Barra, reportedly stems from fears of another incident.

With the decision to pull the plug on Cruise, GM burnt $9 billion of investment dollars with nothing to show for it. The Cruise shutdown highlights the ongoing challenges of how traditional automakers are approaching autonomy. As traditional automakers falter, Waymo and Tesla continue to accelerate as the market is beginning to consolidate around them as the leaders in robotaxis.

As we look to 2025, more consolidation is likely on the way, with Daimler Truck potentially scaling back their in-house autonomous trucking program (Torc Robotics). Then there is Uber which is struggling to define their autonomy narrative to the market. What moves do they make to calm market jitters?

Episode Chapters

0:00 GM Pulls the Plug on Cruise

7:57 Uber & Lyft in the Era of Autonomy

16:47 Zoox and Amazon. What is the Path Forward?

22:45 Could Daimler Truck Follow GM and Shutter Torc Robotics?

29:25 Amazon and Autonomy

31:06 Walmart

32:15 Cybercab in 2026?

33:10 Aurora

33:51 Next Week

Recorded on Thursday, December 12, 2024

--------

About The Road to Autonomy

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/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Andrew Chapin, Chief Operating Officer, Nuro joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss Nuro’s bold pivot to licensing their autonomous driving stack instead of scaling their autonomous robot delivery business. 

As part of the strategic pivot, Nuro has developed the Nuro Driver, which can drive on surface streets and is designed to be adaptable across multiple vehicle platforms. Nuro’s strategy centers on licensing its autonomous driving technology to mobility service platforms, OEMs, and potential fleet operators, with a focus on North America. 

By remaining an independent company, Nuro aims to provide flexibility in tailoring solutions to customer needs and maintaining capital efficiency. The company expects to power robotaxis, delivery services, and L2+ to L3 autonomous systems in the coming years.

Recorded on Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Episode Chapters

0:00 Nuro’s Pivot to Licensing 

4:36 Advantages of Being Independent 

7:08 Capital Allocation

10:42 Nuro Licensing Model 

15:51 Could More Autonomy Companies Pivot to Licensing?

17:44 Nuro Driver ODD

21:01 Driver-Out on Highways

23:31 Nuro Vehicle Platforms 

27:53 Scaling Nuro’s Licensing Business 

32:32 Insurance + Validation 

35:41 Future of Nuro

--------

About The Road to Autonomy

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/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo's expansion to Miami, Uber and Lyft's future in the era of autonomy and Tesla's releases of FSD 13.

Waymo is expanding to Miami in 2025 without one of their partners—Uber. Instead, Waymo chose Moove as their fleet management partner. Could this signal something more broad, as Moove is also taking over the fleet management operations for Waymo in Phoenix?

Tesla released Full Self-Driving (FSD) 13.2 this week and it appears to have lived up with the hype with Alphabet CEO, Sundar Pichai acknowledging that he currently views Waymo and Tesla as the two leaders in the development and commercialization of autonomous vehicles.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Football

0:38 Waymo Expands to Miami + Impact on Uber Partnership

10:43 Uber and Lyft in the Era of Autonomy

16:31 Fleet Management for Autonomous Vehicles

26:17 Tesla FSD 13

33:13 Waymo vs Tesla / WholeMarsBlog Ride Comparison

36:59 Scaling the Tesla Cybercab

40:25 Tesla Delaware Judge Ruling

42:30 May Mobility Expands in Japan

45:49 Next Week

Recorded on Thursday, December 5, 2024

--------

About The Road to Autonomy

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/

Order your very own Make Autonomy Great Hat here: https://store.roadtoautonomy.com/products/make-autonomy-great-hat

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.