Tesla’s expanding technological ambitions are reshaping the automotive industry, prompting traditional manufacturers to pursue robotics, energy storage and increasingly advanced autonomous-driving systems. At the same time, concerns have been raised that problems involving artificial intelligence could spread across a broader corporate group and put SpaceX’s success at risk.
“My concern is that AI issues could spread across the group, putting an otherwise strong company at risk,” he added. “SpaceX’s success must be protected and not used to fund ever broader ambitions.”
Automakers follow Tesla’s lead
Whether the companies merge or not, Tesla’s technological ambitions are already attracting the attention of traditional rivals.
Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna said at a recent car conference in Milan that the flying roadster “certainly shows that there is a lot of work to be done in the automotive world as well.”
Tesla is already driving widespread change across the industry. Like Elon Musk’s company, China’s Xpeng, South Korea’s Hyundai and Japan’s Toyota are expanding their robotics businesses, while America’s General Motors and Ford are pursuing new revenue from energy-storage operations.
Autonomous driving has become a major battleground for the global auto industry, as electric vehicles with similar ranges and prices continue to proliferate.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan described Tesla as “a classic case of an innovative company being disruptive and other companies following suit because they don’t want to be left behind.”
Competition in autonomous driving
Among traditional automakers, General Motors hired former Tesla executive Sterling Anderson last year to oversee product development. He was tasked with developing a new generation of fully autonomous personal cars for the Detroit automaker.
Other European automakers, including BMW and Mercedes-Benz, are partnering with technology companies such as Qualcomm and Nvidia to introduce “Level 2 Plus” driver-assistance systems. These systems still require active monitoring by a human driver behind the wheel.
“Today’s major car manufacturers… are completely rethinking their strategies,” said Yigal Reichelgauz, CEO of Israeli self-driving technology startup Autobrains. He said manufacturers want to adopt subscription models built around more advanced, eyes-off technology to generate new revenue.
Volvo Cars CEO Håkan Samuelsson acknowledged Tesla’s position as a frontrunner in self-driving technology.
“Tesla is probably leading development in the West,” he told the Financial Times, but insisted that Volvo remains firmly in the lead in software. “We are working with NVIDIA to develop door-to-door self-driving cars that will soon be installed in new Volvo cars.”
Additional reporting by Mari Novik in London.
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Source: arstechnica.com
