Building the Model T for Gen Z

Before long, the rideshares we summon with our phones may come without drivers. Though that's not a ride many would accept just yet, a number of companies are nearing launch phase on driverless robotaxi vehicles. Alphabet subsidiary Waymo launched the first limited commercial robotaxi service last December in Phoenix, and existing ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft have partnerships and pilot projects in development in various test cities (mostly those with great weather and little traffic). GM's self-driving subsidiary, Cruise, has postponed its 2019 launch plans but continues testing in San Francisco using the electric Chevy Bolt. And dozens of other robotaxi projects are in various phases of development, including an ambitious plan by Elon Musk to encourage Tesla owners to allow their idle electric vehicles to "gig away" when idle and join other company-owned vehicles in a robotaxi fleet. But to achieve a reality in which self-driven vehicles begin to displace their human-driven counterparts in large numbers, standardization is going to have to become a much more prominent part of the picture.