{"id":303723,"date":"2025-05-24T11:10:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T18:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/?p=303723"},"modified":"2025-07-01T14:34:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T21:34:29","slug":"tesla-acknowledges-it-is-years-behind-waymo-in-autonomous-driving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/tesla-acknowledges-it-is-years-behind-waymo-in-autonomous-driving\/","title":{"rendered":"Tesla Acknowledges It Is Years Behind Waymo in Autonomous Driving"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla&#8217;s head of AI and self-driving, made headlines recently by acknowledging that <a href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/teslas-production-vs-waymos-safety-a-new-chapter-in-the-driverless-car-rivalry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"the company's autonomous driving program is \u201ca couple of years\u201d behind Waymo.\">the company&#8217;s autonomous driving program is \u201ca couple of years\u201d behind Waymo.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an unusually candid interview, Elluswamy emphasized that while Tesla adopts a more cost-effective approach using Level 2 driver assistance systems, Waymo has already established itself with Level 4 autonomous capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Currently, Tesla&#8217;s Level 2 systems require constant driver supervision, which starkly contrasts with Waymo\u2019s full autonomy achieved through its advanced technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Tesla&#39;s head of self-driving admits &#39;lagging a couple years&#39; behind Waymo <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Ba149MLbVe\">https:\/\/t.co\/Ba149MLbVe<\/a> by <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FredericLambert?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@fredericlambert<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Electrek.co (@ElectrekCo) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ElectrekCo\/status\/1925232751621320855?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 21, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tesla Admits It&#8217;s Years Behind Waymo in Autonomous Driving Race<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Elluswamy\u2019s comments reflect a notable shift in Tesla&#8217;s narrative, especially considering CEO Elon Musk&#8217;s previous downplaying of Waymo\u2019s advancements. Nevertheless, he believes Tesla&#8217;s significant production scale\u2014over one million vehicles annually\u2014will ultimately provide a competitive advantage in terms of operational costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As Tesla gears up for its pilot program in Austin next month, it plans to introduce Level 4 autonomy through a specially designed software for geo-fenced areas, a step that Waymo has already been executing in multiple markets, completing over 250,000 paid rides per week. This operational head start places Waymo firmly ahead in the race for autonomous ride-hailing services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Waymo, Tesla robotaxi face-off\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/b3FxeNaD_4A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>However, Tesla\u2019s teleoperation plans might play a crucial role in their journey towards autonomy.<\/strong> Elluswamy hinted at a \u201chigh level\u201d of teleoperation in its pilot program, which could reduce operational costs. In contrast, Waymo employs a different strategy, often utilizing a teleoperator-to-car ratio that enhances efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the two companies continue to vie for dominance in the autonomous vehicle sector, Tesla&#8217;s upcoming initiatives could signal a shift, but widespread optimism remains cautious. Observers can expect the true test of Tesla\u2019s ambitions to unfold as they attempt to match Waymo\u2019s established operations and technology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla&#8217;s head of AI and self-driving, made headlines recently by acknowledging that the company&#8217;s autonomous driving program is \u201ca couple of years\u201d behind Waymo. In an unusually candid interview, Elluswamy emphasized that while Tesla adopts a more cost-effective approach using Level 2 driver assistance systems, Waymo has already established itself with Level 4 &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/tesla-acknowledges-it-is-years-behind-waymo-in-autonomous-driving\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Tesla Acknowledges It Is Years Behind Waymo in Autonomous Driving&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9317,"featured_media":302382,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[1015],"tags":[8319,1471],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[6849],"class_list":["post-303723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ev","tag-tesla","content-category-lifestyle"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9317"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303723"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":303724,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303723\/revisions\/303724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303723"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=303723"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=303723"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=303723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}