12 Best Autonomous Vehicle Stocks to Buy for 2021 An autonomous car is defined as a vehicle that is capable of functioning without any human involvement. The vehicle is able to sense any environment at any given time with the help of sensors, actuators, complex algorithms, and software execution. Basically, AVs are driverless cars. Autonomous electric vehicles are not good for the environment (please also see 12 Best Climate Change Stocks to Buy Now) but also prevent one of the leading causes of death. According to a study conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, crash injuries are estimated to be the eighth leading cause of death globally. If we were able to switch to autonomous driving over night, we would save more than 1 million lives per year globally. Yet, we are still too scared of harming people during the development process of the autonomous driving technologies.