The Autonomous Car Market Is A $270 Billion Opportunity For Apple, Tesla and Google

According to a recent Capital Market Laboratories piece, the autonomous car market is likely to live up to all the hype.

Within the past few years, the dreams of self-driving cars, Auto-Pilot and Internet connected vehicles have captured the imaginations of the public, investors and great thinkers of the day.

While Tesla Motors Inc TSLA has stolen the spotlight most frequently with its innovations come to life and lofty invention goals, Alphabet Inc GOOGL GOOG's Google self-driving car has made headlines – both good and bad – and Apple Inc. AAPL is rumored to be close behind with an electric car facility, new car-related patents and some interest-piquing new employees.

The Industry

As a nascent sub-sector of both transportation and technology, the potential for success is all but incalculable. Likewise, as the unimaginable becomes tangible, investors and experts alike have begun seriously considering how gargantuan this industry could become.

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How substantial the industry could be remains up for debate, but Capital Market Laboratories has estimated the market could be in excess of $270 billion.

With such a large potential, it's hard to imagine that the market will become quickly saturated, but stranger things could happen and one of the major players could push ahead, ultimately controlling this futuristic sector.

In looking at the current three frontrunners, there is no clear favorite to take all. Apple as a technology goliath has its advantages, but its engineering capabilities have not shown much promise for larger machines beyond the iEverything line. Alphabet for its part is a colossal powerhouse and has shown physical aptitude in making an autonomous car come to life; however, that vehicle was recently involved in an embarrassing accident ("You drove into that bus," Robert Shrimsley comically described the event, "Negative, I merely failed to anticipate the stupidity of the human."). Tesla may have shown the most consistent promise, but it is not without flaws, either.

Thus, the debate rages on and only time will tell whose logo your self-driving car will feature.