Finance data and media platform Bloomberg says EV manufacturer Tesla may be ahead of the pack in the race to dominate the self-driving vehicle market against rivals such as Waymo - according to fresh analysis conducted by its Intelligence arm.
Analysis posted on Bloomberg's X account account shows Tesla's self-driving technology reports just 0.15 crashes per million miles driven - against rival Waymo's 1.16 - with its vehicles coming in at just one-seventh of the cost to boot.
Bloomberg says Tesla also wins in metrics such as data collection and fleet size projections.
However, Tesla’s (NASDAQ : TSLA) data counts Autopilot disengagements within five seconds of impact and generally omits injury or police reports, which contrasts with Waymo’s more comprehensive incident logging.
Alphabet (NASDAQ : GOOG) subsidiary Waymo consistently demonstrates higher autonomy levels than Tesla - albeit within specific operational design domains.
Waymo experience?
For years, Waymo has operated Level 4 autonomous ride-hailing services in major United States cities such as Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin, providing a "driver-out" experience.
Tesla's head of self-driving even acknowledged Waymo's lead in delivering fully autonomous experiences in a LinkedIn post.
Waymo's strategy involves high-definition mapping and a comprehensive sensor suite, including Lidar, radar, and cameras, contributing to detailed environmental perception and measured decision-making in complex urban settings.
While this multi-sensor approach increases per-vehicle costs, it facilitates regulatory approvals for driverless operations - leading to partnerships with rideshare companies like Uber and exploratory collaborations with Toyota for consumer vehicles.
However, Bloomberg is backing Elon Musk.
"Tesla's Full-Self Driving (FSD) technology, while classified as Level 2 like most other vehicles offering autonomous features, could be closer to reaching full autonomy than peers,” Bloomberg Intelligence found.
“Tesla's manufacturing capability is a core differentiator vs Waymo who faces vehicle production constraints - no other incumbent U.S. or European carmaker offers full self-driving capabilities on city roads."
Bloomberg's crash-rate comparison analysis? Tesla's self-driving technology could be safer than Waymo's, given the superior and vast mileage data collected.
In another way, Tesla's reliance on large-scale vehicle production and data collection for the mass-market could be seen as a pretty big bet on software-driven scale.
Simultaneously, Waymo's geofenced deployment of capable, multi-sensor autonomous systems could be too cautious of a commitment to safety and operational readiness in the race to dominate the emerging driverless vehicle industry.
While Waymo has already launched with 1,500 driverless cabs on the road, Tesla is about to launch its own Robotaxi service this month.
