What this document is
In November 2013, Morgan Stanley's research division published this report arguing that self-driving vehicles would reshape the auto industry and generate very large economic savings once adopted at scale. The report, credited to a large team of analysts led by Ravi Shanker and Adam Jonas and covering autos, technology and several other sectors, arrived at a headline figure of roughly 1.3 trillion dollars in annual savings for the United States alone, and more than 5.6 trillion dollars globally, once factors such as reduced accidents, fuel savings and productivity gains from time no longer spent driving were included.
At the time of publication, coverage of the report noted that the initial announcement gave limited detail on exactly how those savings were calculated, with fuller breakdowns emerging in later follow-up research notes from the same analyst team, including one focused specifically on Tesla Motors.
The report is widely cited as an early, high-profile example of a major Wall Street research house treating autonomous driving as a near-term industry disruption rather than a distant technology, ahead of the wave of self-driving investment that followed later in the decade.
Where to find it
No current copy from Morgan Stanley is linked here.