Tesla Faces Fierce New Rival in Self-Driving Race

It has been assumed up until recently that the primary challenge to Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA | TSLA Price Prediction) self-driving business was Google Waymo. Other technologies from smaller companies exist. And major legacy car companies like GM (NYSE: GM) are developing their own products.

There is a new challenger, and it appears to be impressive. Wayve, which is based in the UK, has begun working with Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), one of the largest car companies. In the US, it owns the Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler brands. Worldwide, it owns over a dozen brands, which include Fiat.

Wayve’s “AI Driver” may also be adopted by Nissan.

Several experts have pointed out that the challenge with Tesla’s self-driving system, called Full Self-Driving (Supervised), is that users must own a Tesla to use it. Tesla says it will become much more advanced. Tesla is a large company in the EV sector, but it is small compared to the auto giants. That leaves it at a huge disadvantage compared to legacy car companies that license self-driving options. And, it cannot overcome

On paper, Wayve and Waymo could be adopted by many car companies worldwide. That means Wayze may have access to manufacturers, who, in sum, sell tens of millions of new vehicles a year. According to The Wall Street Journal, Wayve co-founder Alex Kendall said: “Not everyone wants to buy a Tesla. Our opportunity is to bring this technology to every other automaker.”

But Wayve has a huge hurdle that it shares with Waymo and Tesla. This self-diving technology needs to be approved by local governments, sometimes at the city level. Tesla and Waymo have trials in a number of cities, and so far, there has been no approval for the sale of any of these vehicles.

If three companies need to fight city to city to get adoption, the process could take years. And, there are worries that these systems are not safe, although there is evidence that they are safer than human drivers.

Wayve may have the best technology, but it faces a very long road to approval