What We’re Reading
Elon Musk Says ‘Safety First’ Over Convenience As Tesla Scales Up FSD To Fulfill Autonomous Driving Future (Benzinga, July 3, 2024)
“Safety first, then the convenience features,” stated Elon Musk on X, responding to Sam Pullara, CTO at of Sutter Hill Ventures, who had posted a list of features that he would like to see on Tesla’s full self-driving (FSD) driver assistance technology in the future. Pullara stated he would like to see FSD pull the vehicle over to allow people to pass if they are traveling faster, identifying poor drivers, and allowing the vehicle to roll through stop signs. Musk responded that, “[s]ome of this stuff like the rolling stop is technically illegal, so NHTSA gets upset, but 99% of people do it.”
Tesla and Musk are focused on improving the FSD software to be able to operate without human intervention, but most recently had to delay rolling out the newest version of FSD due to a loss of driving smoothness. But despite years of promises for a fully autonomous system, FSD still requires active driver alertness and supervision.
Toyota to unveil first ‘full’ self driving EV next year as it chases Tesla (Electrek, June 28, 2024)
Toyota is gearing up to reveal its first EV equipped with an advanced self-driving system as part of its quest to narrow the gap with industry leaders like Tesla. This initiative comes through its joint venture, GAC Toyota, a collaboration between Toyota Motor and China’s Guangzhou Automobile Group. The venture’s announcement on social media indicated plans to introduce an EV in China next year, boasting capabilities akin to Tesla’s Full Self Drive. The new model, Bozhi 3X SUV, will incorporate cutting-edge autonomous driving features, including road navigation, obstacle avoidance, and automated parking. Toyota’s partnership with Momenta, an autonomous vehicle startup, facilitated the integration of this technology. Additionally, GAC Toyota is collaborating with Huawei to integrate tech into Toyota’s bZ3X electric sedan, further solidifying the brand’s position in the competitive EV market landscape.
Tesla Is About to Lose Its EV Market Majority in the US (Bloomberg, June 26, 2024)
For the past six years, Tesla has outsold all other EV manufacturers combined in the US. However, this might end soon as traditional automakers catch up. From June 2022 to May 2023, Tesla sold about 618,000 electric cars in the US, whereas other manufacturers sold approximately 597,000. Despite Tesla’s continued market leadership, its US sales dropped 13% in Q1 2023, while competitors like Ford and Hyundai/Kia saw significant increases. Analysts use state registration data and international sales reports to estimate Tesla’s US deliveries since the company reports sales quarterly without regional specifics. CEO Elon Musk’s politics and Tesla’s limited model range contribute to the challenge, with most sales coming from just two models. Despite the competition, Tesla still dominates the global EV market, making the best-selling Model Y and maintaining the highest valuation among car companies. Still, its future dominance in the US EV market remains uncertain.