Gary Zhou 
Key Points
- đź’ˇ Tesla is in early discussions to license its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software to a major automaker, according to CEO Elon Musk during the Q2 Earnings Call.
- đź’ˇ Earlier, Musk mentioned in a tweet that Tesla would be happy to license Autopilot or Full Self-Driving technology to other companies to advance autonomous driving.
- đź’ˇ The development of licensing Autopilot or FSD has been confirmed, and Tesla is in discussions with a “major” automaker.
- đź’ˇ Ford and General Motors, already working on their self-driving efforts, may not be the ones licensing Autopilot or FSD from Tesla.
- đź’ˇ Tesla believes that applying the open-source philosophy to its patents will strengthen its position and benefit the industry as a whole.
- đź’ˇ Tesla’s Q2 2023 earnings call revealed impressive financial results, including a 20% growth in profits and a 47% increase in revenue compared to the previous quarter.
- đź’ˇ Elon Musk confirmed that the FSD Beta program has covered 300 million miles, and Tesla’s autonomous efforts are expected to accelerate with the help of Dojo, a training computer aimed at lowering neural net training costs.
- đź’ˇ The Cybertruck’s demand is high, but mass production is still planned for the next year, and Tesla is working on improving repairability for its megacasted vehicles.
- đź’ˇ Tesla’s Energy Business is gaining momentum, with strong demand for the Megapack and over half a million Powerwalls installed.
- đź’ˇ Zachary Kirkhorn, Tesla’s CFO, mentioned efforts to reduce costs in Giga Texas and Giga Berlin, as well as significant progress in 4680 battery production with a 25% reduction in cell cost achieved.
During the Q2 Earnings Call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed that the company is currently engaging in early discussions with a major automaker to potentially license its Full Self-Driving software.
Earlier this year, Musk had mentioned in a tweet that Tesla is open to licensing Autopilot or Full Self-Driving technology to other companies, with the aim of advancing autonomous driving technology.
“Happy to license Autopilot/FSD or other Tesla technology,” Musk Tweeted.
The development of licensing either Autopilot or FSD forward has been confirmed, Musk said, as he confirmed Tesla is in early discussions with a “major” automaker.
We predicted that since Ford and General Motors are already in the development of their own self-driving efforts, they would likely not be the ones to license Autopilot or FSD from Tesla. However, Ford and General Motors were the first companies to adopt Tesla’s NACS connector for its EVs, gaining access to 12,000 Supercharger locations starting in Spring 2024 as a part of their agreements.
“We believe that Tesla, other companies making electric cars, and the world would all benefit from a common, rapidly-evolving technology platform,” Musk wrote in a 2014 blog post. “Technology leadership is not defined by patents, which history has repeatedly shown to be small protection indeed against a determined competitor, but rather by the ability of a company to attract and motivate the world’s most talented engineers. We believe that applying the open source philosophy to our patents will strengthen rather than diminish Tesla’s position in this regard.”
