Elon Musk can’t understand why Tesla’s rivals don’t want to pay for its self-driving tech.
The Tesla CEO said on Tuesday that other automakers aren’t interested in licensing the company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, despite his warnings that they risk dying out without it.
“I’ve tried to warn them and even offered to license Tesla FSD, but they don’t want it! Crazy…” wrote Musk in a post on X.
“When legacy auto does occasionally reach out, they tepidly discuss implementing FSD for a tiny program in 5 years with unworkable requirements for Tesla, so pointless,” he added, following up with two dinosaur emojis.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology enables the car to handle most tasks autonomously, but it still requires human supervision. Licensing it to other automakers has long been floated as a way for Tesla to monetize its autonomous vehicle push.
Musk told investors in April 2024 that Tesla was in discussion with one major automaker over a deal, and in January said the EV giant had seen “significant interest” in paying for FSD.
“I think the interest level from other manufacturers to license FSD will be extremely high once it is obvious that unless you have FSD, you’re dead,” the billionaire said on a January earnings call.
Musk’s latest comments suggest that Tesla won’t be striking deals anytime soon.
FSD speedbumps
FSD and its predecessor, Autopilot, have faced significant regulatory scrutiny over the past few years.
Last month, the US auto regulator launched an investigation into reports that Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD were running red lights and driving the wrong way down the road. It followed another probe covering 2.4 million FSD-equipped Teslas last year.
Tesla has also faced numerous lawsuits over FSD and Autopilot. In August, Tesla was found partially liable for a deadly crash involving Autopilot and ordered to pay $242 million in damages. The company said it intends to appeal.
None of this has stopped Tesla from going all in on self-driving. The company is racing to meet Musk’s ambitious goal of expanding its robotaxi service to eight to 10 metro areas by the end of the year, and has recently cleared crucial regulatory hurdles in Nevada and Arizona.
How long it will take for Tesla to cash in on its self-driving push is unclear, however. In the company’s latest earnings, executives said around 12% of drivers are paying for FSD, with quarterly revenue from the technology falling compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, several of the company’s rivals have struck their own self-driving deals.
Toyota announced a partnership with robotaxi firm Waymo in April to bring self-driving tech to “personally owned vehicles,” while Lucid is teaming up with Uber and autonomous vehicle startup Nuro to launch robotaxis in San Francisco next year.
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