Trucking and taxis are making progress, but passenger cars are still far off.

Self-driving vehicles are always touted as the next big innovation, yet they seem to be perpetually delayed, never quite reaching the forefront.

Due to recent disappointments, Bloomberg published an article titled, "Self-Driving Cars Still Have a Long Way to Go Despite $100 Billion Investment". The article may seem critical, but it reflects the recent admission by Tesla that its cars, including those equipped with the "full self-driving" (FSD) option, are still not ready to meet regulatory standards that would allow passengers to sleep in the back seat. This is because human intervention is still necessary.

One expert stated that the real issue is not the regulatory barriers but the technological limitations of the product. "The technology itself is not ready for widespread use, not just its approval," they added.

At the same time, Xpeng, a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, boasts about receiving approval for truly autonomous driving, with a system comparable to Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD). However, it is important to pay close attention to the details; Xpeng's vehicles are only capable of genuine autonomy in urban areas with complete mapping. Furthermore, Argo AI, an autonomous vehicle start-up backed by Ford and Volkswagen, has recently shut down. Despite this, even an optimist analyst acknowledges that "there is still a long way to go before we can develop fully autonomous cars."