Tesla's Self-driving Future Can Run Aground In Being Investigated By Chinese Automotive Giants

Model Y Robotaxi is seen being tested in Austin, Texas. (Doc. X/@daltybrewer)

JAKARTA The competition in the global electric vehicle market is heating up, and now, the biggest threat to Tesla's dominance seems to come from China, not only in terms of affordable electric vehicles, but also in the self-driving technology race. Chinese EV manufacturers, led by BYD, are now starting to overtake Tesla in an effort to develop self-driving cars.

This threat became even more evident after BYD rocked China's smart EV industry earlier this year by offering a free "God's Eye" driver assistance package. This is in stark contrast to Tesla's strategy of selling their "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) technology for nearly $9.000 (equivalent to IDR 146 million) in China.

Taylor Ogan, a BYD investor and user of several Tesla units, stated that BYD's God's Eye is more capable than Tesla's FSD, which he said made Tesla's strategy "start to collapse."

Competition doesn't just come from BYD. Other Chinese automotive and technology companies such as Leapmotor and Xpeng also offer systems equivalent to FSD, which are capable of driving on highways and cities, in cheap vehicles for 20,000 US dollars (IDR 235 million).

Analysis of the vehicle demolition (EAR-down analysis) carried out for Reuters shows that the hardware cost of BYD driver assistance systems is much lower than Tesla. The cost of BYD for component procurement and system development with radar and lidar is equivalent to Tesla's FSD costs, which uniquely does not use such sensors and rely solely on cameras and artificial intelligence. Tesla's approach, which aims to save costs by ruling out additional sensors, is now threatened by the cost efficiency offered by Chinese competitors.

The increasing competition from China's smart EV player is one of the main problems faced by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in the midst of globally declining sales of Tesla vehicles. This situation is increasingly crucial with Tesla's robotaxi trial plan this month in Austin, Texas, with 10 or 20 vehicles, after a decade of unfinished self-driving promises from Musk.

Elon Musk has previously named Chinese car companies the most competitive in the world. Competition from China is one of the driving factors behind Tesla's strategic changes last year.

Now, Tesla is facing stiff competition in vehicle autonomy from the same Chinese automakers that previously disrupted their affordable EV plans. In addition, Chinese technology companies such as smartphone giant Huawei are also taking part by supplying autonomous driving technology to major automakers in China. Driver assistance systems, even those that have not yet reached full autonomy, offer a crucial competitive advantage in the world's largest car market, where Tesla's sales continue to decline amid a protracted price war among dozens of domestic EV brands.