This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss GM’s sudden return to autonomous vehicles, Waymo’s growing supply constraints, and the launch of Tensor Auto.

A few months after shutting down Cruise, GM is once again re-entering the autonomous vehicle market, but this time with a twist. This time around the company will be focusing on developing personally-owned autonomous vehicles instead of robotaxis. 

This is GM’s third attempt at autonomy, raising questions about whether the company can regain the trust of engineers and the broader industry after repeatedly abandoning past efforts. While GM prepares for another autonomy reboot, Waymo continues to grapple with supply constraints. And then there is a new entrant to the autonomy markets, Tensor Auto (formerly Auto X) which is planning to launch a personally owned autonomous vehicle featuring 37 cameras, manufactured by VinFast. 

In corporate moves, Uber Freight CEO Lior Ron has left the company to become COO of Waabi in a surprising move that has drawn significant industry attention.

Episode Chapters

0:00 GM’s Revised Autonomy Plans

11:31 Ford’s Continued Autonomy Disdain

14:37 Where is Toyota?

16:06 Waymo’s Supply Constraints 

20:37 Waymo in Atlanta 

24:27 Is Waymo Expanding too Fast?

25:25 Tesla FSD

29:43 Robotaxi’s Upcoming Public Launch 

33:19 Tesla Eyes NYC Robotaxi Expansion 

35:02 Tensor Auto

43:20 Uber Freight / Waabi 

52:47 Next Week

Recorded on Friday, August 15, 2025

--------

About The Road to Autonomy

The Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.

Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.