How does Tesla's Autopilot fit into the self-driving landscape

Published Sat, Apr 30 20229:25 AM EDT

Tesla certainly seemed to be among the leaders in developing autonomous driving technology when it launched its first advanced driver-assist system, Autopilot, back during the initial wave of self-driving hype in 2014. More recently, Tesla's Full Self Driving system has drawn plenty of attention from analysts and investors — not least because of comments from Elon Musk suggesting that in the not-too-distant future, one's Tesla might be able to make money by serving as a robotaxi when it's not in use by its owner. As with many things in the world of Tesla, it's a compelling vision — but the reality, at least as it is today, falls somewhat short. As CNBC reported in February , Tesla's current beta version of FSD has some promise, but it's a long way from being ready for deployment without a human at the wheel — much less operate as a 24/7 robotaxi in complex urban environments. What's more, there have been no signs that Tesla is working to develop the infrastructure that would be needed to operate a robotaxi business. One challenge: Unlike just about all of its rivals, FSD relies heavily on cameras, eschewing the lidar sensors that most others rely on to ensure they're accurately capturing and tracking everything around the car as it drives. Experts say that relying on cameras forces the car's computer to do much more work — in other words, make many more calculations — to understand how objects around the car are moving. In fact, some companies are using Tesla's FSD struggles to their advantage. Thomas Fennimore, CFO of lidar maker Luminar and a Tesla owner himself, told CNBC that his company has had success marketing its lidar sensor systems to global automakers scrambling to catch up with Tesla. "We go to the [automakers] and we say, it's going to be difficult to leapfrog Tesla from a technology perspective on the EV side," Fennimore said. "They've been doing it now for 10-plus years. Having said that, you have an opportunity to leapfrog them on the [autonomous vehicle] side, where they're struggling now" without lidar. Tesla shares are down more than 17% since the start of the year. On Friday, the stock closed at $870.76. Luminar shares have fallen nearly 27% in 2022 to $12.37.

An employee operates a Tesla Motors Model S electric automobile, equipped with Autopilot hardware and software, hands-free on a highway in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Jasper Juinen | Bloomberg | Getty Images