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But the outcome is far from certain. Tech companies could go into the business of making cars for consumers, or automakers could choose to develop and operate their own fleets of self-driving taxis.

“One thing is clear. The next five to ten years are going to be the most disruptive we’ve ever seen in the history of personal transportation,” says Karl Brauer, a senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book.

Right now, automakers have several advantages. They have a decades-long history of research and development and a deep understanding of drivers’ needs and habits. They’re also not new to semi-autonomous driving: Mercedes-Benz pioneered adaptive cruise control in 1999, while Nissan introduced lane-keeping in 2001.

Automakers also have the manufacturing capacity to make the vehicles and the dealerships to sell them. Those are cash-intensive parts of the business that tech companies likely want no part of.

Advances are coming at a furious pace. Mercedes and Infiniti offer cars that steer themselves and stay within their lanes at highway speeds. Tesla Motors is expected to offer hands-free driving on the highway this summer; Cadillac will offer it next year. In 2017, Audi will offer low-speed, hands-free driving that works during traffic jams.

But Google says a gradual approach to going driverless is wrong — and even dangerous.