In a recent post on X, Tesla CEO Elon Musk threw shade at Waymo, stating that the company “never really had a chance” in the self-driving race. Musk’s comments come as Tesla and Waymo continue to be the primary players in the driverless ride-hailing services in the United States.
Currently, Tesla operates driverless services in Austin, Texas, with a Safety Monitor present in the vehicles. In its Bay Area operation, there is someone in the driver’s seat. Musk has announced that the Austin operation will be completely void of any Safety Monitors by the end of the year, showcasing Tesla’s confidence in its self-driving technology.
The rivalry between Tesla and Waymo is evident, with both companies sparring over their geofences or service areas in Austin and the Bay Area. While this may be a metric for comparison now, Musk believes that in the coming years, the two companies will likely operate in a similar fashion.
One of the key differences between Tesla and Waymo is their approach to self-driving technology. Tesla aims to expand its self-driving efforts to every one of its vehicles globally, while Waymo focuses on larger cities. Additionally, Tesla uses its own vehicles for its self-driving services, whereas Waymo has models from various manufacturers in its lineup.
Another point of contention between the two companies is their approach to solving self-driving challenges. Tesla relies on a vision-only approach, while Waymo utilizes technologies like LiDAR, which Musk has criticized in the past. Despite these differences, Musk remains confident in Tesla’s position against Waymo.
In response to a comment by Jeff Dean, the Chief Scientist for Google DeepMind, Musk reiterated his belief that Waymo never stood a chance against Tesla. He highlighted Tesla’s potential to have a much larger fleet of self-driving vehicles in the future, thanks to the possibility of activating Robotaxi services with all passenger vehicles through a simple Over-the-Air update.
As Tesla continues to push forward with its self-driving technology, the competition between Tesla and Waymo is set to intensify. Musk’s comments serve as a reminder of Tesla’s confidence in its self-driving capabilities and its position in the evolving landscape of autonomous vehicles.