Tech Giants, Carmakers Rev Up Lobbying on Autonomous Vehicles

Related: Companies Face Sharp Curves On Driverless Regulations

Much of the driverless-car lobbying is happening on the state level. But simultaneously, firms are spending tens of thousands of dollars on lobbying fees at the federal level.

Many companies are beefing up their Washington lobbying teams around self-driving cars to shape federal policies for the future of automobiles. The Trump administration has vowed to take a fresh look at guidelines the Obama administration rolled out in September.

Here’s a snapshot of some of the recent spending by top players in the driverless vehicle industry.

Waymo LLC/ Google Inc.

Alphabet’s Google reported spending $3.52 million in the first quarter lobbying Congress on autonomous vehicle technology, drones and various other topics concerning the tech giant.

The company’s self-driving car unit, Waymo, hired Holland & Knight in mid-March to lobby on the “development, testing, deployment and regulation of autonomous vehicles.” Holland & Knight reported receiving about $10,000 in the quarter, according to a lobbying disclosure for the three months ending March 31. In that period, Google also shelled out $50,000 to the Franklin Square Group for lobbying on autonomous vehicles and various other issues.

Uber Technologies Inc.

In the first three months of 2017, the ride-hailing startup Uber spent $370,000 lobbying on such topics as the commercial deployment of self-driving vehicles, according to its first-quarter disclosure.

Uber paid the Franklin Square Group $50,000 for lobbying work on “issues related to autonomous vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles,” along with “innovation in the transportation market.” The work was focused on the House and Senate, according to a first-quarter lobbying disclosure.

Uber spent another $60,000 to have the Doerrer Group LLC lobby on a range of issues, including “self-driving vehicles for commercial purposes.” The Doerrer Group doled out $20,000 on Uber’s behalf to the Federal Hill Group for help lobbying Capitol Hill, along with the National Highway Safety Administration and the Department of Transportation.

Lyft Inc.

Lyft has been lobbying on autonomous vehicle policy since at least 2016, but only recently has one of its outside firms begun to help out on that issue.

For the first time since it was hired by Uber’s rival in 2015, the Podesta Group recently reported lobbying for Lyft on “policies related to autonomous vehicles.” Lyft paid the Podesta Group about $40,000 for its work in the first quarter of 2017, according to a disclosure form filed this month.

Tesla Inc.

Tesla spent about $190,000 so far this year on driverless car regulation and other issues affecting the electric car company. According to federal disclosures, the company’s advocacy included “discussions regarding issues impacting [electric vehicle] manufacturers regarding autonomous drive vehicles.”

West Front Strategies LLC was a top benefactor of Tesla’s lobbying budget, receiving $40,000 in the first quarter for work on autonomous cars, along with regulatory issues around solar energy and tax credits.

Chambers, Conlon & Hartwell raked in about $30,000 in the first quarter for making introductions to lawmakers and working on “issues impacting [electric vehicle] manufacturers regarding autonomous drive vehicles.”

Tesla also paid about $10,000 to Jeff Burton, a onetime aide to former Rep. Eric Cantor, for lobbying on autonomous vehicle regulation and electric vehicle tax credits.

General Motors Co.

General Motors contracted out nearly $200,000 in lobbying work related, at least in part, to autonomous vehicles.

So far this year, four firms— Roberti Global, S-3 Group, the Majority Group and the Fritts Group—have lobbied for the automaker. GM spent a total of $3.93 million lobbying not only Congress but also the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Commerce, according to its first-quarter lobbying disclosure.

Ford Motor Co.

Ford has enlisted O’Keeffe Strategies, Alpine Group, Fierce Government Relations and Subject Matter for help on autonomous car regulations, paying the firms a combined total of about $160,000 in the first three months of 2017, according to lobbying disclosures.