Have autonomous vehicles been overhyped?

Jan. 18--Welcome to Friday Tech Crawl, where we highlight some of this week's biggest tech stories.

The race for autonomous vehicles has slowed down

A few years ago, when automotive and technology executives began boasting about a near future where driverless cars would flood streets, a large amount of hype began growing around the concept.

Recently, that hype has slowed down, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

After saying autonomous cars would be market ready in coming years, the automotive and tech world has taken a more realistic approach, the Journal wrote. Experts now believe it will be decades before driverless cars significantly replace human drivers on roads.

Developers of the technology are still struggling with basic scenarios such as making unprotected left-hand turns and car robot confusion. Most tests completed by autonomous vehicles have included safety operators in the cars, with companies taking more cautious approaches after a fatal crash last year involving an autonomous vehicle operated by ride-hailing firm Uber.

More headlines:

Netflix says it has 10% of all TV time in the US and discloses some colossal numbers for its shows

Netflix reported fourth quarter earnings on Thursday.

Tim Cook calls for 'data-broker clearinghouse' in push for privacy rules

The Apple CEO asked the Federal Trade Commission to track data brokers and monitor how they use people's digital information.

Facebook blocks accounts linked to Russian state-owned Sputnik

Facebook said on Thursday it had deleted hundreds of Russia-affiliated accounts.

Elon Musk says that Tesla will end its buyer referral program on Feb. 1

The Tesla chief announced the news on Twitter.

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