Google’s Self-Driving Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA)’s Cars, Still Far Ahead

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There are reports going around that Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk is in talks with Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) to put integrated driverless technology in its automobiles. However, a tweet from Musk possibly hints otherwise, making clear that there will be no big announcement to be expected as of now.

Google's Self-Driving Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA)'s Cars, Still Far Ahead

The Tweet from the CEO read “Am a fan of Larry, Sergey & Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) in general, but self-driving cars comments to Bloomberg were just off-the-cuff. No big announcement here.”

Both Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google Founders, has been an early investor in Tesla, even before its 2010 initial public offering.

Why not?

The possible reasons why Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) may not approach Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) as of now for Auto Pilot technology are many. According to Elon Musk the sensor system of Google is very expensive as of now. Instead, Musk supports the option of having optical system; primarily cameras with software that will be able to find out what’s going on as it looks into the things would be a better option.

The CEO of Tesla is looking forward to reduce the cost of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) cars in order to make it affordable for a wider base of consumers, and partnering with Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) will certainly not help the cause.

The Google’s driverless technology project is headed by Sebastian Thrun, former head of Stanford University’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Elon Musk said that there were discussions held with Google on Light Detection and Ranging, or Lidar, laser tracking system, but the technology was too expensive and was not feasible.

Elon Musk said that there are possibilities that Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) will come up with its own Autopilot system in car. He said in an e-mail that the system should be camera based and not Lidar based. However, he did not deny the possibility of doing something in collaboration with Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG).

David Strickland, head of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that crash avoidance systems, which will warn the driver or can put breaks before the car hits anything, are now possible in the car. But the autonomous cars as of now are “are a long way off.”

Elon Musk said that Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is not holding talks with either Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) (TYO:7203) or Daimler AG (OTCMKTS:DDAIF) (ETR:DAI), the two shareholders in Tesla regarding the driverless technology car. He said that Tesla will look forward to making auto pilot cars, but that is not at the top of the list of Tesla’s priorities. He said the more important task right now is to make electric cars a sustainable transport.

 

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