Facebook: Relax, we won’t build cars

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As major tech companies announce their ambitions to develop self-driving vehicles, Facebook has chosen to stay away from the battlefield.

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, said in a speech at the Frankfurt Motor Show on Thursday that the company will not build cars.

"I come with very good news. We're the only company in Silicon Valley that's not building a car," she said, telling German automakers that the US social media giant has no intention to compete with them.

Although they have no intention to step into the car-building business, Facebook still plays an important role in the automotive world. /AFP Photo

The California-based company is listed as the sponsor of “New Mobility World”, an event focused on shaping the future of mobility, according to their website.

Forbes has reported that potential car buyers spend about 30 to 50 minutes on Facebook per day. With Facebook's huge amount of customer data, car companies could create customized vehicles for buyers based on what they post on Facebook.

Tech giants’ driverless dreams

Aside from electric car manufacturer Tesla, tech companies from other industries have joined the competition in the race to bring a driverless car to market.

Google's self-driving car at the Viva technology event in Paris on June 30, 2016. /AFP Photo

Google started its self-driving car project in 2009, and showed off its first prototype at the Code Conference in 2014. The company announced its plan this April to start the first public test of the unmanned car with a large-scale program in Phoenix, Arizona, said Forbes.

Autonomous vehicles from smartphone manufacturer Apple and Samsung are also being tested on roads. The Cupertino-based company obtained permission from the Department of Motor Vehicles in California this April and the car was spotted by people in the region during the past four months.

In May, Samsung got permission to test their automated cars in South Korea, and this month the company will start testing it's unmanned vehicle in California.

Robin Li doing a “live chat” in a self-driving car. /CGTN photo

Chinese internet giant Baidu launched the 1.0 version of its autonomous driving tech platform Apollo this July at Baidu Create. Founder Robin Li announced partnerships with over 60 car companies globally at the event.

In a theatrical show of how the Apollo technology worked, Li broadcasted live from his self-driving car to the event's main conference hall.