What We’re Reading

March 23, 2022

• Mercedes Drive Pilot Beats Tesla Autopilot By Taking Legal Responsibility (Road & Track, March 20, 2022)

  Road & Track reports that Mercedes will try to obtain use approval for its Level 3 “Drive Pilot” system in the United States by the end of the year.  Drive Pilot currently is approved for use in Germany, where Mercedes also has agreed to accept legal responsibility for a vehicle whenever Drive Pilot is active, albeit under narrow driving conditions.  

  If Mercedes is successful in the U.S., Drive Pilot could be a game-changer for ADAS technologies and liability determinations.

• The 2020s will be a 'transformative' transportation era, Buttigieg says at SXSW (Smart Cities Dive, March 17, 2022)

  The Transportation Secretary emphasized the potential benefits of EV technologies as well as the need for equitable access.  “When asked about autonomous vehicles, he agreed that the safety potential for autonomous driving is ‘enormous,’ but he said that the policy framework hasn't caught up with the technology. While developing that framework, he said, it's important to allow room for experimentation.”

• Starbucks May Solve a Big Problem for Tesla and the EV Industry (The Street, March 19, 2022)

  Speaking of access . . . one major inhibitor to EV ownership is the relative scarcity of charging stations across the U.S.  As the public sector continues to grapple with a response to this issue, Starbucks may have found a private sector solution.