The Road to Autonomy

Dean Foreman, Chief Economist, Texas Oil & Gas Association joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how record-breaking global energy demand and Texas’s energy dominance are reshaping markets amid the AI revolution and shifting geopolitical dynamics. With the Energy Information Administration (EIA) projecting consecutive oil demand records of 103.7 million barrels per day in 2025 and 104.9 million barrels per day in 2026, Texas has emerged as the undisputed energy powerhouse, now producing 42% of US oil and 30% of US natural gas while generating $27.3 billion in state tax revenue and supporting over 1.3 million jobs.The Permian Basin continues to demonstrate remarkable productivity gains, delivering 20% more output using 40% fewer rigs compared to 2018-2019 levels through advanced data analytics and re-fracking technologies. This efficiency revolution has enabled Texas to account for 80% of US oil growth year-to-date while natural gas demand reaches record highs of 148.7 trillion cubic feet globally. Despite economic headwinds including record $18.4 trillion household debt and softening labor indicators, energy markets continue to show resilience with diesel demand up 4% and jet fuel climbing 5% year-over-year, reflecting continued industrial activity and travel recovery.Natural gas is rapidly becoming the critical infrastructure powering AI data centers and the digital economy, with hyperscalers increasingly turning to co-located natural gas generation for reliable 24/7 electricity. As geopolitical tensions create new energy partnerships between Russia and China through proposed pipelines capable of 5 billion cubic feet per day, and Europe relies on up to 75% of Texas LNG exports during peak periods, traditional energy resources prove foundational not just to current economic prosperity but to the future of automation, artificial intelligence, and global technological advancement.Episode Chapters0:00 Weakening U.S. Dollar & Interest Rates2:21 Growing Household Debt4:20 Emerging Markets & Supply Chains5:27 Growing Natural Gas Demand12:49 Growing Global Oil Demand16:51 Potential Weakening U.S. Economy18:33 Global Oil Supply21:27 China24:49 Europe29:55 Permian Basin 32:58 ADS Business Conditions Index34:33 Tech’s Impact on Oil & Natural Gas Industry36:03 Texas Oil & Natural Gas Industry’s Economic Impact 37:52 Next QuarterRecorded on Thursday, September 4, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this discussion, telecom analyst Walter Piecyk shares his insights on the intense rivalry between Waymo and Tesla in the robotaxi market. Waymo's bold expansion into Denver and Seattle is spotlighted, along with regulatory hurdles it faces in politically challenging cities. Tesla's new Robotaxi waitlist captures attention, skyrocketing in app charts. The conversation also touches on NHTSA's regulatory changes to expedite autonomous vehicle commercialization and highlights Torc's financial challenges as Daimler Truck seeks funding.

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk marked the one-year anniversary of Autonomy Markets and discussed the reignited debate between LiDAR and vision-only after comments made by Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi during an interview. During the interview, Mr. Khosrowshahi stated that in the short term, a combination of camera, LiDAR, and radar is the “right solution,” noting that all of Uber’s current partners use this combination. This statement prompted a response from Elon Musk, who argued via a post on X that LiDAR and radar actually reduce safety due to “sensor contention” and reaffirmed Tesla’s commitment to a camera-only system. Beyond the technical debate, Grayson and Walt discussed Tesla’s expanded Robotaxi service in Austin and the growing opposition to a potential Waymo deployment in New York City.Episode Chapters0:00 One-Year Anniversary of Autonomy Markets2:14 Dara Khosrowshahi Reignites LiDAR vs Vision-Only Debate9:24 Elon Musk’s LiDAR Rebuttal 11:49 What if Tesla Embraced LiDAR?14:29 Robotaxi Expands in Austin, Once Again18:14 Traffic Fatalities 20:32 Waymo Begins Testing in New York City26:06 Boring Company is Testing FSD Supervised in Las Vegas29:07 Stellantis Shuts Down Internal ADAS Development Program31:28 Next WeekRecorded on Thursday, August 28, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Anshuman Saxena, Vice President and Head of ADAS/Autonomous Driving Products, Qualcomm joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss Qualcomm’s Snapdragon autonomy strategy.Qualcomm’s automotive division is rapidly expanding, with revenue up 59% year-over-year to $959 million. At the center of this growth is the company’s Snapdragon Digital Chassis, a comprehensive automotive platform and the cornerstone of Qualcomm’s autonomy strategy.As part of this approach, Qualcomm is redefining the digital cockpit by integrating AI-powered natural language interactions, advanced graphics through Adreno GPUs, and vision-based systems that enhance both safety and user experience.Looking ahead, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon architecture is not only powering vehicles today but also laying the foundation for robotics and future intelligent systems.Episode Chapters0:00 Qualcomm’s Approach to Autonomy6:10 ADAS Growth Opportunity 10:09 Consumer Adoption of ADAS12:10 In-Vehicle Experience 16:37 Snapdragon Digital Chassis17:44 Adreno GPU24:15 Developing Technology with Partners28:05 Robotaxi Platform29:36 Vision Systems 33:07 Personally Owned Autonomous Vehicles 35:46 Reasoning 40:54 Chip Design 45:16 Future of Qualcomm’s Automotive Division Recorded on Tuesday, August 26, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the significant operational challenges Waymo and Uber are currently experiencing in Atlanta and Nuro's Series E round.Waymo’s launch in Atlanta has gone anything but smooth. A shortage of vehicles and frequent rider pairing issues on Uber have sparked negative local media coverage, with Fox 5 Atlanta even publishing a guide on how to improve your chances of getting a Waymo ride. The Atlanta launch has raised questions about the long-term future of Uber and Waymo’s partnership. While Waymo and Uber are facing vehicle supply issues in Atlanta, Nuro successfully closed a Series E round led by Uber that raised $203 million at a valuation of $6 billion.Episode Chapters0:00 Robots2:42 Nuro Series E4:54 Delivery Robots Part 16:11 Fleet Management 9:24 Delivery Robots Part 214:26 Waymo on Uber in Atlanta 21:15 Status of Waymo and Uber’s Relationship 26:58 Helm.ai Honda Expand Partnership 32:21 Alibaba’s Autonomous Driving IPO34:16 Baidu Apollo Go36:35 Tesla FSD in Japan38:46 Cybercab39:32 Next WeekRecorded on Thursday, August 21, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

David Welch, Detroit Bureau Chief, Bloomberg joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss GM’s renewed interest in autonomous vehicles.From robotaxis to personally owned autonomous vehicles, GM is once again preparing to enter the autonomous vehicle. This time in a initiative led by Chief Product Officer Sterling Anderson, GM is focusing on developing personally owned autonomous vehicles. Despite the shift in strategy, GM faces significant hurdles. The company must rebuild trust with the tech community to attract top talent after Cruise’s high-profile failures. At the same time, the company continues to face intense competition from Tesla, whose rapidly advancing Full Self-Driving (FSD) system raises questions about whether GM can develop a competitive system in-house or if it will need to license technology from Waymo, Wayve, or Nuro.GM’s return to autonomy opens the door to many questions. Questions that will only be answered in the years ahead.Episode Chapters0:00 GM Once Again Enters the Autonomy Market4:07 Can Sterling Anderson Revive GM’s Autonomy Ambitions? 6:36 GM’s “New” Autonomy System9:16 Super Cruise Subscription Revenue 10:37 Tesla13:48 Does GM Have to License?14:49 Rebuilding Trust18:26 Would GM ever do a Waymo Deal?20:04 Licensing + Data23:51 Timeline26:43 Pricing Autonomy32:41 Ford34:22 Where Does GM Ultimately Go?Recorded on Monday, August 10, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss GM’s sudden return to autonomous vehicles, Waymo’s growing supply constraints, and the launch of Tensor Auto.A few months after shutting down Cruise, GM is once again re-entering the autonomous vehicle market, but this time with a twist. This time around the company will be focusing on developing personally-owned autonomous vehicles instead of robotaxis. This is GM’s third attempt at autonomy, raising questions about whether the company can regain the trust of engineers and the broader industry after repeatedly abandoning past efforts. While GM prepares for another autonomy reboot, Waymo continues to grapple with supply constraints. And then there is a new entrant to the autonomy markets, Tensor Auto (formerly Auto X) which is planning to launch a personally owned autonomous vehicle featuring 37 cameras, manufactured by VinFast. In corporate moves, Uber Freight CEO Lior Ron has left the company to become COO of Waabi in a surprising move that has drawn significant industry attention.Episode Chapters0:00 GM’s Revised Autonomy Plans11:31 Ford’s Continued Autonomy Disdain14:37 Where is Toyota?16:06 Waymo’s Supply Constraints 20:37 Waymo in Atlanta 24:27 Is Waymo Expanding too Fast?25:25 Tesla FSD29:43 Robotaxi’s Upcoming Public Launch 33:19 Tesla Eyes NYC Robotaxi Expansion 35:02 Tensor Auto43:20 Uber Freight / Waabi 52:47 Next WeekRecorded on Friday, August 15, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Uber’s growing autonomous vehicle investments and why they won’t be modest. While Uber publicly framed their autonomy spending as “modest” and emphasized share buybacks, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi made it clear on the company’s Q2 2025 earnings call that more OEM partnerships and AV deals are on the horizon. At the same time, Uber pointed to “recycling” past investments, raising the question: why recycle when the company’s growing free cash flow can support both increased buybacks and significant investments in the autonomy ecosystem? Is this simply a bid to reassure Wall Street while simultaneously preparing for an autonomous future?Anything is possible and we broke it all down on this week’s edition of Autonomy Markets along with Lyft’s renewed interest in autonomy and their willingness to invest and own assets. As Lyft prepares to spend (with a smaller balance sheet), Uber’s autonomy investments will be anything but modest.Episode Chapters0:00 Uber’s Autonomy Investments Narrative 3:49 Who Finances Robotaxi Fleets?6:16 What is Holding Back Growth of AVs?8:26 Autonomous Driving Systems10:20 Uber’s AV Exclusive Deals 12:05 Uber Recycling Investments 16:09 Uber’s Relationship with Waymo 18:49 Lyft is Leaning into Autonomy21:52 Lyft Partners with Baidu for Europe and UK Markets 2428 Managing AV Fleets 28:24 Aurora LIVE31:24 Zoox NHTSA Exemption 32:47 Autonomy Expands the Rideshare Market 37:33 Next WeekRecorded on Thursday, August 7, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Andrew Chapin, Chief Operating Officer, Nuro joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss Nuro’s three-way partnership with Uber and Lucid Motors, which will see Uber exclusively deploy the Lucid Gravity robotaxi powered by Nuro on their platform.In a deal that clearly validates their bold pivot to licensing, Uber has committed to deploying 20,000 Nuro powered robotaxis globally on the Uber network over the next six years, with the potential for significantly greater scale as the partnership matures.This isn’t just another robotaxi announcement, this could be the blueprint for the future of robotaxi deployment. An autonomous driving software developer licenses its technology to an OEM, which integrates the software and hardware at the factory, while a third party owns and operates the vehicles on a commercial network.Episode Chapters0:00 Nuro x Lucid x Uber Deal4:55 Going Global6:39 Building the Lucid Gravity Robotaxi13:15 Maintaining the Robotaxi16:07 Nuro Hardware19:41 What’s Next?23:10 Nuro’s Business Discipline 26:58 Preparing for Market Launches31:31 Highways33:08 Operations 35:13 Looking ForwardRecorded on Tuesday, July 29, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo’s expansion to Dallas without Uber, instead partnering with Avis and renewing a relationship that dates back to 2017 and the emerging Tesla double standard. Waymo’s multi-year partnership with Avis signals the company’s desire to maintain flexibility, rather than locking into exclusive partnerships. With Avis once again joining the autonomous vehicle industry as a service provider, could Hertz and Enterprise be next to jump back in to the industry? As Waymo continues to expand to new markets, Tesla ha recently launched a ride-hailing service in the San Francisco Bay Area, covering a vast service area from San Jose to Berkeley, albeit with safety drivers due to California’s regulatory constraints.Staying in the policy theme, Waymo is facing fierce resistance in Boston, where several City Council members are attempting to ban autonomous vehicles unless a safety driver is present. The opposition underscores the uphill battle autonomous vehicles companies still face in when expanding to new markets. Then there is the Tesla double standard. No matter what the company does, someone seemingly will find something wrong, something to nitpick and something to complain about. From social media to regulatory hearings, the double standard is real, and unfortunately it is shaping some aspect of the public autonomous vehicle narrative.Episode Chapters0:00 Waymo Expands to Dallas2:07 Waymo Partners with Avis Once Again6:19 Dallas Robotaxi Market8:24 Rental Car Companies11:31 Waymo Highway Testing13:30 Waymo’s Unfriendly Boston Welcome 19:28 Tesla’s Bay Area Ride-Hail Expansion 22:04 Tesla and Waymo’s Rabid Fans 25:39 Tesla Robotaxi27:48 Tesla & Waymo’s Impact on Uber29:03 Autonomous Trucking31:45 Aurora 34:52 Investor Interest in Autonomous Trucking36:04 Next WeekRecorded on Thursday, July 31, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.