Lyft was wrong on driverless vehicles
Back in 2016, Lyft's co-founder predicted most rides would be self-driving by 2021. That was wildly ambitious. Maybe COVID threw things off track, but we're nowhere close to that reality.
In 2016, Lyft co-founder John Zimmer predicted most of the company's rides would be self-driving within five years, a transformation that would largely eliminate the need for costly drivers.
"I really think in the next two to three years that kind of actual no driver, driverless vehicle will be something you can order pretty easily on the Lyft platform," he told CNBC last week in Detroit.
Zimmer, 38, said autonomous vehicles, or AVs, will be used in tandem with traditional drivers for the foreseeable future, which is why he is convinced the company is well positioned to grow in both areas.
That cautionary tone marks a shift from six years ago, when Zimmer sent waves across Wall Street and the automotive industry with his prediction that self-driving cars would soon dominate the industry. Some believed at the time the ride-hailing company and others like it — namely, Uber — could eventually eliminate the need for car ownership.
Source: CNBC
Fully autonomous vehicles aren't coming anytime soon. But that's okay—the gig economy is all about pushing boundaries and adapting. Lyft's vision for AVs is still exciting, and it will create new opportunities for workers and riders alike when it arrives.
Update: Lyft is now partnering with Tensor Auto to deploy hundreds of autonomous vehicles starting in 2027—finally making progress on those 2016 predictions, just a decade later.