Overview
- Ford says a Level 3 eyes‑off system will debut in 2028 on vehicles built on its $30,000 Universal EV platform launching in 2027, using lidar and a new in‑house compute architecture designed to cut hands‑free system costs by about 30%.
- Ford will roll out an AI assistant through its Ford and Lincoln apps in early 2026 before integrating it in vehicles in 2027, with features that tap vehicle‑specific data to answer practical questions such as towing or cargo fit.
- Nvidia unveiled Alpamayo at CES, a family of reasoning‑focused AI models for autonomous driving intended to handle rare scenarios and explain decisions, with partners including mobility platforms and automakers.
- Uber showcased a Lucid‑based robotaxi at CES and says it aims to put a fleet to work in San Francisco later this year, with a broader Nvidia partnership supporting plans reported to scale autonomous fleets beginning in 2027.
- Tesla’s Elon Musk downplayed near‑term competitive pressure from Nvidia‑based systems, saying they are five to six years away from challenging Tesla, while ongoing Waymo service issues highlight the regulatory and operational hurdles for fully driverless services.