> Otto isn't alone in trying to automate big rigs. Daimler and Volvo Trucks have both demonstrated self-driving systems in recent months, but Levandowski doesn't sound worried about those efforts. "I think the trucking folks are doing a great job, and eventually they would probably solve the problem. But a company that is used to building trucks is not well structured to solve a technology problem," he says.
A company with top of the line machine learning systems designed to improve advertising results is not better positioned to build an autonomous vehicle than a company with top of the line non-autonomous vehicles.
The argument here is essentially this: Microsoft started to lose when they (a company building computers, operating systems, and essential productivity software) were not best positioned to create mobile phones, despite being the biggest player in the computer market.
Being a bigger player doesn't mean you're better suited to solve a problem.
As opposed to what, an advertisement company?