Autonomous vehicle startup Argo AI has started offering rides in Austin, Texas for those ordering Lyft rides.
Argo AI, the autonomous vehicles startup owned by Ford and Volkswagon, has started giving rides to those who order Lyft cars. Most people will see these as Lyft robotaxis when they’re on the road. Austin is now the second location in the US where Argo AI has offered autonomous rides.
We had wondered how Lyft and Uber weren’t going to become autonomous vehicle juggernauts when we no longer have to drive cars because it has always seemed wisest for there to be autonomous vehicle fleets. The reason fleets seem wiser than any alternative is because when we don’t drive ourselves, there will be more people ordering cars to be used as robotaxis which lowers the cost of renting them. And you ideally rent from a company you trust rather than individual people because you don’t know how well individual people are looking after their vehicles.
That all points to Uber and Lyft being two dominant companies who own these fleets of cars to be used for ride-hailing. And as Elon Musk has pointed out, technically car manufacturers could offer a similar service since they are the ones manufacturing the vehicles anyway.
Image credit: Lyft
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