Alphabet Inc. News

Dubai Stages First Public Test of Drone Taxi Service with Electric Volocopter

Talk about rising above the masses. Dubai staged the first public test of its drone taxi service on Monday, offering a peek at what it might—or will—be like to commute by flying car. The self-piloting, electric Volocopter is less noisy …

Lawsuit Filed against Google by Three Former Female Employees in California

Google faces a new lawsuit accusing it of gender-based pay discrimination. A lawyer representing three female former Google employees is seeking class action status for the claim. The suit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, follows a federal labor investigation …

Apple, Tesla Want California to Toughen Proposed Self-Driving Car Test Rules

Apple Inc. urged California to toughen up its proposed policy on testing self-driving cars, a move that would result in more public data that could help Apple catch up to rivals in the self-driving space by giving it a better …

Grand Theft Auto Video Game Teaches Autonomous Cars How to Drive

In the race to the autonomous revolution, developers have realized there aren’t enough hours in a day to clock the real-world miles needed to teach cars how to drive themselves. Which is why Grand Theft Auto V is in the …

Google’s Autonomous Car Company Escalates Legal Battle With Uber

A self-driving car company founded by Google is presenting new evidence to support allegations that a former manager stole technology sold to Uber to help the ridesharing service build its own robot-powered vehicles. Waymo, a project hatched by Google eight …

California Rules for Self-Driving Cars Draw Objections from Google, Automakers

Alphabet Inc.’s Google unit and automakers objected on Wednesday to California proposals to set new, mandatory rules for testing self-driving cars in the state, which industry officials said could hobble their efforts in the home to much of self-driving vehicle …

Motor Insurers Need to Adapt to Ward Off Competition from Car Manufacturers

As internet-connected and, eventually, driverless vehicles roll off production lines, traditional motor insurers need to adapt to ward off competition from car manufacturers. Insurers have struggled for years to make a profit from motor insurance due to intense competition and …

Google Takes Partial Blame After Self-Driving Car Hit Bus

Alphabet Inc.’s Google said on Monday it bears “some responsibility” after one of its self-driving cars struck a municipal bus in a minor crash earlier this month. The crash may be the first case of one of its autonomous cars …

Google Self-Driving Car Hits Bus in California Crash

Alphabet Inc.’s Google self-driving car struck a municipal bus in a minor crash, in what may be the first case of one of its autonomous cars hitting another vehicle. In a Feb. 23 report filed with California regulators, Google said …