Should legacy automakers embrace Tesla Full Self-Driving technology for their vehicles or sit this one out? What are they worried about?
Elon Musk tried to warn them, but Ford, GM, and Stellantis aren’t interested in licensing Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system. Musk revealed on X that when legacy automakers do reach out, they come back with requirements that make the whole thing pointless. He’s been offering FSD to competitors for years, but they either don’t want it or propose tiny pilot programs five years down the road with impossible conditions. Meanwhile, analysts think Tesla’s autonomy work could be worth hundreds of billions. Looks like the traditional car companies might regret sitting this one out.
Elon Musk has been offering FSD licensing to legacy automakers for years
Is Tesla further ahead of most legacy automakers in the race for autonomous driving technology? It’s possible, but with Tesla and Elon, there are usually a few things to be concerned about. Tesla has offered FSD in the past and had to reel it back in because drivers became reliant upon it, despite it being advertised as “not a full self-driving technology” package. The names Autopilot and Full Self-Driving are a bit misleading, but Tesla might actually be out in the lead in the automotive autonomy race, but American legacy automakers aren’t taking the bait on this one.
Could Tesla Full Self-Driving be part of future legacy vehicles?
For now, the Detroit Big Three have politely declined any Tesla FSD licensing deals. That could turn out to be a big mistake, or it could be the best way to avoid serious headaches caused by the system and its name. Currently, Ford and GM are involved in self-driving technology competition with each other, offering systems that are safer than what Tesla offers, despite some limitations. Still, a Ford, GM, Tesla partnership in the future could mean that every electric vehicle from these automakers could be equipped with FSD technology, but that seems to be years away. Thus far, GM, Ford, and Stellantis have only entertained the idea of FSD tech in small batches and several years down the road, not right now on a grand scale.
What does Tesla need to do to convince other automakers?
There are several layers to the challenges of adding the Tesla Full Self-Driving system to vehicles from other brands, the least of which isn’t proving that it works long term. Before other automakers embraced the idea of using Tesla Supercharging stations and adopting the NACS port for vehicles, Tesla had to prove it owned the most reliable charging network. It’s going to be much more difficult to prove that FSD is better than what GM and Ford already have going with Super Cruise and BlueCruise technology, which continues to be developed and evolved.
The EV demand could be problematic for Tesla Full-Self Driving adoption
In addition to long-term proof that FSD is the way to go, most automakers are seeing a slowing of EV demand, especially in the United States. The dramatic shift in direction away from EVs under the current federal government administration comes on the heels of a precipitous slowing of demand for these vehicles. Drivers who wanted an electric vehicle have gotten them, and the benefits aren’t great enough to convince many others to change from gas and diesel-powered vehicles to EVs.
Which legacy automaker would make the leap first?
If history is an indicator, the first of the Detroit Big Three that would be likely to embrace Tesla Full Self-Driving technology would be Ford. That said, Tesla will need to prove that its tech is truly autonomous before it is adopted by any of the legacy names in America. Without that, why would Ford ditch its BlueCruise in favor of Tesla’s FSD, which is misnamed and has received negative attention for contributing to the deaths of drivers in the past?
Are legacy automakers making a huge mistake?
According to Elon Musk, the stipulations and small-scale involvement offered by legacy automakers are a mistake and will show that they are missing out when FSD is the future of autonomous driving. He could be a visionary and understand that this system will work as self-driving tech in the future, but Tesla’s history of delays, broken promises, and blustering aren’t going to work in his favor. It’s probably wise that GM, Ford, and Stellantis have all politely declined offers to license the tech, especially with the current EV market slowdown.
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