|
Hello and welcome to SAE Unplugged, I am your host Grayson Brulte.
The autonomous vehicle industry has a messaging problem. That’s right, the autonomous vehicle industry has a messaging problem. For a moment, imagine a world where the autonomous vehicle industry did not have a messaging problem… Just a moment. How different would it be?
The current messaging from autonomous vehicle companies is not working and it has to change, or the industry will be run over by a rash group of individuals who for whatever reason want the technology to fail. For too long we have told the story of safety and why and how autonomous vehicles are safer than human drivers. While in fact this correct, it’s not a message that resonates with a majority of the
public. The public cares about how this technology will impact their lives. Will autonomous vehicles lower my cost of transportation? Will I be able to have my grandkids picked up at the airport? Can I send my kids to school? Will the costs of goods decrease because of autonomy?
The answer to all above is a resounding YES.
But why as an industry do we not discuss these points and highlight the positive benefits of AVs that a majority of the public can get behind? That is the million-dollar question that one has to ponder as the autonomous vehicle industry is being attacked both verbally in the media and physically in San Francisco where a group of bad actors are putting cones on autonomous vehicles to disable them. Stealing a cone is theft. Putting a stolen cone on an autonomous vehicle is a crime. It’s defacing private property. Oh for the bad actors who think that they are cool by putting cones on autonomous vehicles and filming it for TikTok. You are not and at some point, you will be arrested for defacing private property because autonomous vehicles have cameras, and they capture your antics. Then there is the media who loves to run headlines such as:
How The Self-Driving Car Dream Became an Absolute Nightmare
Robo taxi ride: Waymo self-driving demo turns into wild ride for TV journalist in San Francisco
Don't Be Deceived by Autonomous Cars Propaganda
These headlines have no substance, and they were merely created to drive ad revenue and clicks. It’s working and the headlines will keep coming until the public stops clicking. And regulators in California are taking notice and buying into the false narrative. The California Public Utilities Commission has delayed a vote on robotaxis expanding in San Francisco for a second time this year. The next hearing is scheduled for August 10. The odds of the vote being delayed again are high as the CPUC is creating an undue burden on the autonomous vehicle industry from a reporting aspect. Sharing data that could be misinterpreted and misrepresented is not the path forward.
Afterall, didn’t we learn this with the California Disgorgement Reports? Those reports only created confusion in the marketplace and stifled investments in this technology. You can only stifle innovation and progress for so long until the business simply picks up and moves to another State. We have seen this happen before with Oracle moved from Redwood City, CA to Texas in 2020, CBRE moved from Los Angles to Texas in 2020, AECOM moved from Los Angeles to Texas in 2021, Charles Schwab moved from San Francisco to Texas in 2021. And we will see if continue to happen if the California regulatory and business environments continue to be hostile towards business. Could the autonomous vehicle companies be next?
If I was in charge, I would have already moved my company to another State and scaled up operations in a State that was welcoming to my business. If Waymo and Cruise pull out of San Francisco, they would save millions of dollars in lobbying bills, not to mention countless headaches. If they did pull out and move autonomous operations to other States, jobs would be lost.
AVs need humans to operate They are coded by humans. Charged by humans. Cleaned by humans. Loved by humans. Autonomous vehicles safe lives by not texting and driving. Autonomous vehicles allow you to go out to the bar and drink and ride safely. You can have a great night on the town without having to worry about driving. From an economic standpoint, think about the economic impact AVs will have on cities.
If you were a Mayor of a City, would you want AVs operating in your city? The answer would be YES because autonomous vehicles create jobs and increase consumer spending. At the end of the day, autonomous vehicles are economic engines. With a potential economic downturn on the horizon and a potential recession, any form of job creation should be welcomed.
But not in California. They are in the business of killing jobs. Mayor London Breed of San Francisco has come out publicly supporting AB316, which would require a driver in an autonomous truck weighing over 10,000 pounds at all-times indefinitely.
Bye, bye jobs…. The jobs that autonomous trucks would have created in San Francisco will be shipped to California. History shows us this as companies have moved 100,000’s of thousands of jobs from California to Texas and now autonomous trucking jobs will move as well. History also shows us that new technologies create jobs. When ATMs first were commercialized, there was outrage that they were going to kill bank teller jobs, the exact opposite happened - jobs were created.
In 1985, the United States had 60,000 ATMs and 485,000 bank tellers. By 2002, the number of ATMs increased to 352,000 and the number of bank tellers increased to 527,000. There was no job loss - there were only job increases. Factoring in the jobs that were created to build and service the ATMs, you add thousands of more jobs into the equation.
ATMs turned out to be good for the banking industry, the economy and society as a whole. Now let’s bring this to the local California level, how many jobs both in-directly and directly has Silicon Valley created. Apple, Google, and Meta are responsible for millions of jobs. Now imagine if early in their lives as companies’ regulators tried to put undue regulations on search, apps or social media and collectively worked to ban the technology. California would not the 5th largest economy in the world. It’s because of innovation, not regulation that California became the 5th largest economy in the world.
Innovation creates jobs. Autonomy is going to create jobs. Despite all the negative backlash around automation and autonomy, 75% of the global public trusts the technology sector, a 1-point increase year-over-year, according to the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer. The trust is there, but we need to work on our messaging. Imagine what autonomy can do for you? Imagine riding in an autonomous vehicle in San Francisco with the bay skyline in the background next to a trolley car? Imagine having food delivered to you without feeling the pressure to tip? Imagine being able to talk on the phone on your way to the airport without having to worry about a driver listening to your conversation? Imagine drinking a bottle of wine at dinner and getting home safely without having to drive? This is all possible with autonomous vehicles.
It’s time for the autonomous vehicle industry to change the messaging from safety to imagine. John Lennon imagined.
Imagine all the people.
Sharing all the world.
You may say I'm a dreamer.
But I'm not the only one.
I hope someday you'll join us.
And the world will live as one.
Come join the future of autonomy, we might be dreamers, but we are creating the future because we can imagine a world that improves your life. Is it time to change the messaging around autonomous vehicles?
Let us know by sending an email to podcast@sae.org.
Today is tomorrow. Tomorrow is today. The future is Imagining what is possible.
|
