The CEO of Ford Motor Company turned heads after publicly expressing a lack of faith in Tesla's self-driving technology, Fortune reported.
"When you have a brand like Ford, when there's a new technology, you have to be really careful," Jim Farley said during an onstage interview at the Aspen Ideas Festival, per Fortune.
Unlike the vast majority of companies developing self-driving technology, Tesla has famously chosen not to use laser-based LiDAR technology, instead pursuing a system based on cameras and artificial intelligence, The Guardian reported.
Industry experts have expressed doubt over Tesla's unique approach, with the Ford CEO now among their ranks.
"We really believe that LiDAR is mission critical," Farley said, per Fortune.
For the CEO of a top U.S. automaker to say that a competing technology is "mission critical" represented a huge blow to Tesla's prospects for the future.
Analysts have estimated that as much as 90% of Tesla's future value lies not in electric vehicles but in robotics and AI technology, according to Quartz.
While some experts have said they expect Tesla to "own the autonomous vehicle market in the U.S.," per Quartz, that might not be as easy given that Ford has now publicly bowed out as a potential customer.
Even before Farley's comments, Tesla and its go-it-alone tech were already playing catch-up.
Top competitor Waymo said in May that it was offering 250,000 rides per week in 1,500 autonomous vehicles operating across San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin, Texas, with plans to expand to more cities soon.
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For sure 👍 Meanwhile, Tesla recently launched its first fleet of 10 to 20 test vehicles in Austin, with mixed results.
While competitors such as Tesla and Waymo battle it out for the future of what is expected to be a $1 trillion autonomous vehicle industry, the good news is that, to date, all Tesla and Waymo robotaxis are EVs.
That means no heat-trapping pollution or lung-damaging particulate matter coming out of tailpipes, which is a win for public health and the environment, especially in congested cities.
If you own an EV and would like to leverage the cost savings and environmental benefits even further, installing solar on your home is a great option. Charging an EV with solar power is cheaper than using public charging stations or the grid, and it generates less pollution.
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