Driverless Cars Essay

535 Words2 Pages

As an employee of a traditional automobile manufacturer, I consider the emergence of driverless cars a potentially game-changing innovation that both threatens my company and presents new opportunities to leap ahead. Therefore, I recommend we invest in driverless cars to stay ahead of the market and continue innovating, rather than give in to cultural lock-in, fall behind, and lose our chance to progress. If driverless cars become more affordable and relevant in the market, they would dramatically change the fundamentals of the automobile industry. To consumers, the driving experience becomes a riding experience. To the energy economy, it means a drop in energy and gas consumption. Finally, to the car manufacturers, it creates a greater demand. People who are currently unable to drive, whether because they are handicapped or of older age, can now purchase and use a self-driving vehicle, because they will not be driving it. This innovation will disrupt the way the automobile industry works today. It not only requires that we build cars in a new way, it also will change everything else, like how we market the new cars. It is competency destroying, as we cannot build upon the expertise we already have. Change will likely be …show more content…

At the moment, universities like UT and companies like Google research and produce driverless cars. These entities are interested in the finer details of writing the code and creating cars that can safely navigate the world. They will not be the ones producing them, however, when they are ready to enter the market. That job will fall to the current automobile companies and new ones who will rise to meet the challenge. So, as a manufacturer, we must prepare to produce them, or lose our place in the market as well as the chance to capitalize on a new invention. To do that, we must give up or divide parts of our current company, despite whatever cost it may present

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