Detroit leads, Tesla lags in trillion-dollar race for robot-car business

A Waymo self-driving test vehicle is seen in Mountain View, Calif., on February 10, 2019. (Yichuan Cao/Sipa USA/TNS)

DETROIT: The Motor City is firmly at the front of the auto industry's next revolution. 

A new study by Navigant Research rates three companies as leaders in the race to develop and make money on self-driving, autonomous cars and trucks:
– Waymo, the Google company that uses Chrysler minivans and plans to assemble autonomous vehicles in Southeast Michigan.
– General Motors Cruise Automation, which pledges to have autonomous vehicles in commercial service this year.
– Ford, which has kept a relatively low profile while developing a strong technical and business plan.