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Lyft to offer self-driving taxis in several cities in 2023

A self-driving Lyft in Las Vegas. Photo courtesy of Motional

Autonomous vehicles will be available on Lyft's ride-sharing network in multiple U.S. cities beginning in 2023, Lyft and self-driving tech company Motional announced Wednesday.

Why it matters: It represents a potential milestone in the commercial rollout of self-driving technology, which AV developers say will lead to safer, lower-cost transportation.

  • The announcement comes less than two weeks after rival Uber pulled the plug on AV development, selling its self-driving unit to Aurora, which could one day deploy robotaxis on the Uber network.

Details: Motional, a joint venture between Hyundai and Aptiv, will integrate its next-generation self-driving Hyundais into the Lyft network in several unnamed cities.

  • The vehicles will be equipped with sensors, computers, and software to enable fully-driverless operation and remote vehicle assistance. 
  • Lyft will be responsible for the rideshare network and customer experience.
  • A small fleet of self-driving test vehicles (with a human safety driver) have been available on the Lyft network in Las Vegas for several years.
  • Last month, Motional received permission from the state of Nevada to remove the driver from those cars.

The bottom line:  After years of hype, autonomous vehicles could find a path to market within a few years.

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Kia Kokalitcheva
Jan 20, 2021 - Technology

Ex-Uber autonomous driving exec gets pardon from Trump

Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

In the last hours of his presidency, President Trump granted a full pardon to Anthony Levandowski, the engineer at the center of a 2017 lawsuit between Google's self-driving car unit and Uber over alleged theft of trade secrets.

Why it matters: The case made headlines as a bitter legal battle between two of Silicon Valley's best-known companies in the race to build self-driving cars.

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Shawna Chen
48 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Kaine, Collins' censure resolution seeks to bar Trump from holding office again

Sen. Tim Kaine (center) and Sen. Susan Collins (right). Photo: Andrew Harnik/Pool via Getty Images

Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) are forging ahead with a draft proposal to censure former President Trump, and are considering introducing the resolution on the Senate floor next week.

Why it matters: Senators are looking for a way to condemn Trump on the record as it becomes increasingly unlikely Democrats will obtain the 17 Republican votes needed to gain a conviction, Axios Alayna Treene writes. "I think it’s important for the Senate's leadership to understand that there are alternatives," Kaine told CNN on Wednesday.

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Stark reminder for America's corporate leaders

Rosalind "Roz" Brewer is about to become only the second Black woman to permanently lead a Fortune 500 company. She starts as Walgreens CEO on March 15.

Why it matters: It's a stark reminder of how far corporate America's top decision-makers have to go during an unprecedented push by politicians, employees and even a stock exchange to diversify their top ranks.

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