Fox News host Lara Trump gets a front-row seat to the Tesla Gigafactory in Texas to watch vehicles get assembled on'My View with Lara Trump.' Lucid Motors is about to make highway driving a lot more relaxing. The electric vehicle startup is rolling out a major upgrade to its driver-assistance technology, placing it squarely alongside Tesla and GM in the growing hands-free driving market. WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)? The update launches first for the Lucid Air sedan, with the upcoming Gravity SUV getting these features later this year. DreamDrive Pro combines advanced hardware and intelligent software to power Lucid's driver-assistance system.

Polestar promised Apple CarPlay support for its EVs two years ago, and it's finally delivering. As The Verge explains, the car brand has released an over-the-air update for the Polestar 2 that makes CarPlay available on the Android Automotive-based sedan. If you'd rather use Apple Maps instead of Google Maps or prefer to talk to Siri in lieu of Google Assistant, you now have that choice as long as you connect your iPhone. The most fun part about driving a Polestar is driving it, but there's more to it. Our latest over-the-air update for the Polestar 2 comes with Apple CarPlay, allowing Polestar owners with an iPhone to change music, use apps, and communicate through Siri or the infotainment system pic.twitter.com/mulkjIUR6D

U.S. safety investigators want to know why Tesla didn't file recall documents when it updated Autopilot software to better identify parked emergency vehicles, escalating a simmering clash between the automaker and regulators. In a letter to Tesla, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told the electric car maker Tuesday that it must recall vehicles if an over-the-internet update deals with a safety defect. "Any manufacturer issuing an over-the-air update that mitigates a defect that poses an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety is required to timely file an accompanying recall notice to NHTSA," the agency said in a letter to Eddie Gates, Tesla's director of field quality. The agency also ordered Tesla to provide information about its "Full Self-Driving" software that's being tested on public roads with some owners. The latest clash is another sign of escalating tensions between Tesla and the agency that regulates vehicle safety and partially automated driving systems.

Toyota Motor Corp. is tapping a star Silicon Valley robotics expert to help put the final touches on an operating system it says will go up against that of Tesla Inc. Called Arene, the system allows new features to be installed in a car's existing hardware over the air and provides a platform for developers to create software. It's being developed by Toyota's new technology research arm Woven Planet Holdings Inc., led by Chief Executive Officer James Kuffner, a former Google engineer. Tesla is already a leader when it comes to over-the-air updates of a car's operating systems, which control everything from braking to Wi-Fi, locking and lights. It has been upgrading its electric vehicles' battery range and autonomous functions remotely via updates since 2012. On an earnings call last week, Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said Tesla is willing to license its software capabilities to third parties and is already in talks with original equipment manufacturers.

Last week, Tesla surpassed Toyota in market capitalization to become the highest valued automaker in the world. The rise of the 16-year old electric car maker to the #1 position, with only 48,000 employees, dwarfs companies such as General Motors, which, with 164,000 employees, is worth just over a fifth of Tesla's valuation. You will find more infographics at Statista. Despite several product launch delays and sometimes questionable leadership, the company has been able to change the value proposition and perception of the electric car, making it a sustainable and desirable option for many customers. To accomplish this, Tesla has sought and invested in leading-edge technologies since its foundation, embracing cloud computing, IoT, and on-demand manufacturing.

Is Tesla preparing to offer Model 3 leasing? Tesla is finally putting the Y in sexy – or rather S 3 X Y -- its lineup of car models. The electric car maker is unveiling its new Model Y crossover SUV at Thursday at 8 p.m. Pacific Time in Los Angeles. I would be lying if I said I didn't find it alluring. I have long lusted with a protective detachment after the sleek cars that seemed the elusive and unattainable thing I could only dream about.

While self-driving vehicles are beta-tested on some public roads in real traffic situations, the semiconductor and automotive industries are still getting a grip on how to test and verify that vehicle electronics systems work as expected. Testing can be high stakes, especially when done in public. Some of the predictions about how humans will interact with autonomous vehicles (AVs) on public roads are already coming true, but human creativity is endless. There have been attacks on Waymo test vehicles in Arizona, a DUI arrest of a Tesla driver sleeping at 70mph on a freeway, and other Tesla hacks using oranges and aftermarket gadgets to trick Tesla's Autopilot into thinking the driver's hands are on the wheel. But are those unsafe human behaviors any more dangerous than the drum beat of technology hype, unrealistic marketing, and a lack of teeth in regulating testing of AVs on public roads, the factory and the design lab?

Under the watchful eyes of the public and lawmakers, several traditional automakers and tech companies have been racing to the finish line of "fully autonomous driving." Companies are already testing their cars in real-world conditions on public streets, and to date, some have driven millions of miles. Though opinions vary, it is hypothesized that we will be safer in autonomous vehicles (AKA self-driving cars). And while we would really need significantly more data to determine this as a statistic, I can imagine the experience of riding in full autopilot will be somewhat like flying: though much scarier than driving (for most), you are still safer, statistically-speaking. Regardless, it will be some time before the majority of average consumers have replaced their conventional vehicles.

At CES, ZF, one of the largest automotive parts supplier, launched its "ProAI" self-driving solution for vehicle manufacturers. The solution is based on Nvidia's Drive PX 2 computing platform for self-driving cars. ZF is the first tier 1 car parts supplier to use Nvidia's Drive PX 2 system. However, Nvidia announced previously that the system is also powering Tesla's Autopilot 2.0 hardware, which will be in newer Model S and Model X cars, as well as in the Model 3. It seems that the Drive PX 2 is already getting the seal of approval from important players in the autonomous vehicle market. The Drive PX 2 computing platform is available in multiple configurations. The lower-end one, called Autocruise, includes a single Parker SoC, and it targets vehicles that only need to handle highway automated driving and HD mapping.