General Motors is still very much in the business of selling gas-guzzling trucks and massive SUVs. But if you listen to its leadership, the Detroit giant is rapidly transforming into a nimble, software-defined tech player with a tightened grip on AI.

That was the pitch today, when GM hosted its tech-focused Onward event to unveil a wide-ranging slate of EV, autonomous vehicle, and AI initiatives - all aimed at fending off the rising threat of tech-heavy Chinese automakers.

The promises are big: GM claims it will use AI to cut vehicle development times in half, introduce compute units up to 40 times more powerful than its current hardware, …

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How it started

The first state to pass a law legalizing self-driving cars operating on public roads was Nevada in June 2011 - long before such vehicles were operating on public roads. This was three years before the introduction of Tesla's Autopilot, five years before Waymo spun out of the Google self-driving car project, and seven years before the first commercial robotaxi …

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Volvo plans to launch hands-free, point-to-point driving by 2030, powered by Nvidia's latest AI technology. The Chinese-owned, Swedish-designed automaker said Thursday it would use Nvidia's autonomous driving stack to power a new partially automated driving system similar to Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised).

Volvo says the new point-to-point system will be Level 2++, meaning it can handle complex urban environments, including traffic lights, stop signs, and unprotected left turns without explicit driver control. In addition to Tesla's FSD, it will also resemble the Nvidia-powered system that Mercedes-Benz recently rolled out for the …

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it's evaluating allegations that Tesla's 1,000 or so robotaxis using its automated driving system are exceeding "posted speed limits in active school zones." Waymo's robotaxis have also faced similar inquiries, including for illegally passing school buses and hitting a child near a California elementary school.

NHTSA:

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a DP on September 23, 2026, requesting an investigation into model year (MY) 2026 Tesla Robotaxis (Model Y and Cybercab) with the Automated Driving System (ADS) engaged. The Petitioner alleges that the ADS exceeds poste …

Read the full story at The Verge.