Google lawsuit could be a fatal setback for Uber's self-driving dreams

Accusations that an ex-Google engineer stole trade secrets and took them to Uber may pose an existential threat in the race to get self-driving cars on the road

When Anthony Levandowski loped on to the stage to accept the Hot New Startup award at an industry awards show this month, the trucker hat perched on his head served as a cringeworthy nod to the millions of drivers his self-driving truck company is poised to leave jobless.

Three weeks later, it is the pioneering engineer of self-driving car technology whose job could be in jeopardy, and the lawsuit he is named in could pose an existential threat to an increasingly vulnerable Uber.