The battle in self-driving technology is revving up, and some believe it's now a competition between Silicon Valley and the Motor City of Detroit. Tim Higgins, Tech & Auto Reporter at the Wall Street Journal, and Joel Feder, Interactive Content Manager at Motor Authority, join Cheddar to give their predictions on the future of the auto industry.
Higgins actually moved from Detroit to Silicon Valley because it started becoming home to more and more automakers. German, Japanese, and American companies all have offices in the Golden State fighting for talent. He discusses how partnerships with Volkswagen and Hyundai could catapult tech start-up Aurora into the self-driving winner's lane.
Feder points out that weather has a huge impact on the testing of this self-driving technology. He believes that, since Detroit sees more snow and harsher conditions, it would be a great place for cars to test on the road.
Volkswagen U.S. CEO Pablo Di Si joined Cheddar New to discuss record quarterly electric vehicle sales and his reaction to Tesla trimming prices on some vehicles by 20% last week. “We'll continue with our pricing strategy, we're not cutting prices on the vehicle's quality over quantity and product content,” he said.
Microsoft is cutting 10,000 workers, almost 5% of its workforce, in response to what it described as “macroeconomic conditions and changing customer priorities.”
