Google lawsuit could be a fatal setback for Uber's self-driving dreams

When Anthony Levandowski loped onto the stage to accept the Hot New Startup award at an industry awards show this month, the trucker hat perched on his head served as a cringeworthy nod to the millions of drivers his self-driving truck company is poised to leave jobless. Three weeks later, it is the pioneering engineer of self-driving car technology whose job could be in jeopardy, and the lawsuit he is named in could pose an existential threat to an increasingly vulnerable Uber. With deep pockets and a $70bn valuation, Uber has racked up a series of victories against regulators, taxi companies, and upstart competitors. But Uber will now go up against tech's undisputed heavyweight champion – Google – while it is still on the ropes after a consumer boycott campaign and allegations of a toxic work environment. A report by the New York Times that Uber misled the public by blaming a human driver for running a red light during the company's short-lived self-driving trial in San Francisco further damaged both Uber's and Levandowski's credibility.