Tesla’s Elon Musk reiterates FSD licensing offer for other automakers

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Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) suite may attract a lot of skepticism from critics, but the fact remains that it is one of the most advanced driver-assist systems available for consumers today. With the rollout of FSD (Supervised), Tesla has effectively brought supervised assisted driving to inner-city streets. And in a recent post on X, CEO Elon Musk reiterated his willingness to license FSD to other carmakers. 

Driver-assist systems are widely available today. One would only need to see the critical media coverage on Tesla Autopilot to see that other prominent driver-assist systems are offered by automakers like Ford, General Motors, and Mercedes-Benz. Such systems, however, tend to have numerous limitations. They also tend to only be available on freeways. 

The story is much more different in inner-city streets. In such locations, Tesla FSD (Supervised) competes only with sophisticated autonomous driving solutions from companies like Waymo and Cruise. Provided that Tesla could further refine FSD (Supervised) to such a degree that it is unequivocally safer than an average human driver in both freeways and inner-city streets, the system would likely be a no-brainer for other automakers. 

The car industry is extremely competitive, after all, so features like FSD (Supervised) could potentially become a competitive advantage. 

Elon Musk actually responded positively to a proposed FSD licensing model pondered by longtime FSD Beta tester @WholeMarsBlog. As per the Tesla owner, FSD licensing could involve Tesla allowing an OEM to integrate the system into any car for free or at cost, but buyers would pay for the license to use the system. The Tesla owner also suggested that by opting into FSD, drivers could enjoy access to Tesla’s active safety and basic features, as well as lower Supercharger rates. 

In a post on X, Musk noted that “Tesla would be happy to do such deals.” Musk also responded positively to the idea that Tesla’s earnings from its FSD licensing deals would eventually exceed the company’s business earnings. “Good chance that turns out to be true,” Musk wrote in a post on X. 

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Tesla’s Elon Musk reiterates FSD licensing offer for other automakers





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Tesla Model Y is Sweden’s most registered car in March 2024

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Tesla Sweden may still be seeing challenges due to trade union IF Metall’s strike, but the electric vehicle maker is still posting some impressive numbers in the country. During March 2024, the Tesla Model Y took its place as Sweden’s most registered car model, with 2,011 registrations over the month, as per data from Mobility Sweden. 

Following the Tesla Model Y are the Volvo XC60, which saw 1,079 registrations, and the Volvo S/V60, which saw 888 registrations. It should be noted, however, that the Tesla Model Y, while still the country’s top seller, saw a 37.2% year-over-year decline in March 2024. The Volvo XC60, on the other hand, saw a 28.6% year-over-year increase, and the Volvo S/V60 saw an even bigger 97.8% increase. 

Year-to-date, the Tesla Model Y still reigns king in Sweden, with Mobility Sweden listing 3,583 registrations for the all-electric crossover since the start of the year. The Model Y’s year-to-date sales in Sweden do not show a steep drop, as it is only 0.7% lower than the 3,610 Model Y that were sold in the same period in 2023. 

As noted in a CarUp report, Mobility Sweden’s data only covers until March 28, 2024. Figures from Car.info suggest that 138 Tesla vehicles were registered at the end of the month that were not covered by Mobility Sweden’s official report. Tesla Sweden seems to confirm this, as the company noted that more vehicles were indeed delivered during the closing days of the month. 

“During the last three days of March, we delivered an additional 300 cars, which means that registrations increased compared to quarter 1, 2023 and probably also our market share. We are experiencing continued strong demand and our deliveries increased by approximately 20% compared to quarter 4, 2023 and the Model Y maintains its place as Sweden’s best-selling car model. Model Y has also extended its lead in the leaderboard this year compared to 2023,” Tesla Sweden noted. 

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Tesla Model Y is Sweden’s most registered car in March 2024





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Tesla outsold BYD in Q1 to regain world’s largest EV seller title

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Tesla has once again outpaced Chinese automotive giant BYD in quarterly sales, after China’s largest electric vehicle (EV) maker briefly outsold the U.S. company in Q4.

BYD and Tesla both reported their first-quarter delivery numbers on Tuesday (BYD reported estimates), with both automakers feeling the effects of a slight slowdown in global EV markets. Tesla delivered 386,810 vehicles in Q1, while BYD delivered approximately 300,114 battery-electric vehicles (BEVs).

The news also means that Tesla regained the title of the world’s largest BEV seller, after holding it for most of last year, and briefly being outpaced by BYD in Q4 for the first time.

BYD had its slowest profit growth in two years in Q4

For Tesla, the deliveries marked an 8.5 percent decline year over year, down from 422,875 vehicles delivered in Q1 2023, and a roughly 20.2 percent drop from Q4. BYD also fell 43 percent from its record quarterly high of 526,409 BEV units sold in Q4, though it also saw BEV sales increase 36 percent from the first quarter of 2023.

Notably, China remains an important market for Tesla, though BYD doesn’t yet sell vehicles in the U.S. and has said it doesn’t plan to enter the market anytime soon. Following widespread reports of BYD supposedly becoming the world’s largest BEV seller in Q4, some pointed out Tesla’s operation of fewer factories, its larger net profit levels, and its substantially lower number of workers.

In addition, Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded to the reports, pointing to Tesla’s status as much more than just an automotive company.

That particular point feels especially relevant as Tesla has officially changed the “beta” moniker Full Self-Driving (FSD), instead dubbing the system “FSD (Supervised)” as it rolls out the highly anticipated v12, free trials, and mandatory FSD demos on delivery.

Also, it’s worth noting that Tesla and BYD have both been vocal about competition being necessary to help achieve widespread BEV adoption. In February, BYD Vice President Stella Li called Tesla a “partner” in electrification, noting that the BEV transition would not be happening so quickly without the U.S. automaker.

Without naming names, Musk last year said that Chinese automakers were “highly competitive these days,” and he has consistently pointed to the market as being deserving of praise.

Plus, many at Tesla and in the larger Tesla community have regularly pointed out over the years that the U.S. BEV maker can’t electrify the entire global market on its own, and that the whole auto industry must work together to help make transportation more sustainable.

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

Tesla outsold BYD in Q1 to regain world’s largest EV seller title





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