Ford Taps the Brakes on the Arrival of Self-Driving Cars

Ford CEO Jim Hackett Tuesday joined the growing ranks of vehicle and tech execs willing to say publicly that self-driving cars won't arrive as soon as some had hoped. The industry "overestimated the arrival of autonomous vehicles," Hackett told the Detroit Economic Club. Though Ford is not wavering from its self-imposed due date of 2021 for its first purpose-built driverless car, Hackett acknowledged that the vehicle's "applications will be narrow, what we call geo-fenced, because the problem is so complex." Bloomberg earlier reported the comments. Hackett is the latest high-ranking industry insider to engage in public real talk about the prospects for self-driving cars, which back in 2016 seemed just around the corner.