Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla is currently in ‘early’ discussions to license its self-driving technology with a ‘major’ automaker.
At the end of his opening remarks for Tesla’s Q2 2022 earnings call following the release of the automaker’s financial results, CEO Elon Musk said that he wanted to “strongly emphasize” that Tesla is open to licensing its self-driving technology to other automakers.
That’s something that the CEO has been frequently mentioning as of late.
But this time, Musk mentioned that Tesla is currently in “early talks” with a “major OEM” about licensing its Autopilot/Full Self-Driving package.
OEM refers to original equipment manufacturers, which in the auto industry, means the automakers.
Integrating Tesla’s self-driving technology into other automakers’ vehicles would be quite a task, as it would require integrating Tesla’s self-driving computer along with several cameras all around each vehicle at specific angles.
The camera-based strategy is also distinct from what most other automakers have implemented, often relying on different sensors, like lidar.
Most other automakers also have a very different approach by having purpose-built vehicles for autonomy, like GM’s Cruise, while their consumer vehicles are limited to level 2 or 3 autonomous features.
On the other hand, Tesla believes that its approach is going to enable level 4 or 5 autonomy on consumer vehicles through software updates, but it has yet to deliver on this.
How early, how serious, this another version of "funding secured" which turned out to be considerably less than truthful
This is not too surprising, considering Tesla’s communication channels with other automakers are higher than ever, thanks to its many new Supercharger partnerships.
It’s easy to imagine that amid those talks, Tesla started to sell them on its Autopilot/Self-Driving technology too.
But it’s a tough sell after years of missed deadlines. At the same time, many automakers are far behind when it comes to autonomous driving, and it might make sense for them to partner with Tesla instead of being left behind.
What do you think? Does any automaker come to mind? Let us know in the comment section below.
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