Big auto players have made it clear that they intend to beat Google in the commercial development of driverless cars, reports Forbes. The most vocal have been Nissan, Audi, Daimler, Volvo, Delphi and Tesla, though Ford and General Motors have their own efforts as well.

Trillions are at stake. In the U.S. alone, more than $2.5 trillion flows through car-related industries each year, including suppliers, automakers, dealers, financing, insurance, service, energy, etc. Worldwide, the stakes are more staggering. New vehicle sales in the U.S. in 2014 accounted for just 19 percent of global sales.

Into whose pockets these car-related trillions will flow in a driverless car future depends greatly on one question: whether or not driverless cars will require human drivers.

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