They don't have choice. They need new billion dollar businesses and as soon one new thing with potential they have to jump on it. And self driving cars is one t

They don't have choice. They need new billion dollar businesses and as soon one new thing with potential they have to jump on it. And self driving cars is one that to "investors" promises a huge potential. That's why Amazon Google and Apple did tablets, home automation, ... I don't think they seriously think it's the next big thing, but they don't have alternatives to invest in that promise growth.