Despite Baidu and Waymo’s lead, Tesla will scale robotaxis quicker: ARK Invest analyst

In the race to be the first to crack autonomous driving, Alphabet’s Waymo and Baidu have taken a big lead over Tesla.Both companies have a thriving technology that is ready to scale, with Tesla nowhere in sight.However, ARK Invest analysts believe despite currently being behind its competitors, Tesla will eventually overtake the competition when it comes to scaling. This opinion is mainly based on the amount of data that Tesla possesses to train its technology.According to some estimates, the company has 70 times more data than the next-best competition. Other companies will have to operate for years before they can acquire such data, let alone use it to train their robotaxis. By then, Tesla will already be miles ahead.How far ahead are Waymo and Baidu?Waymo has been operating its Robotaxis in some areas of Phoenix, Arizona since 2020. These rides are offered to customers without the presence of any safety driver. With time, the company has been refining its technology using its data. Its self-driving technology is now one of the most advanced in the industry.Baidu has also made notable progress in autonomous driving. The company launched its service called ‘Apollo Go’ in a few Chinese cities. Its fleet completed over 1 million rides in 2022, impressing people with its operations even in densely populated areas.The Chinese company’s position is further solidified through government approvals for leading the testing of autonomous vehicles in urban environments.Tesla’s scaling advantageTesla does not yet have a Robotaxi fleet, even though Elon Musk promised it years ago. It is scheduled to hold its Robotaxi event in October, already delayed from the previously planned August schedule. While other companies continue to scale new heights in autonomous driving, Tesla is struggling to hold its event.But it would be wrong to take that as Tesla’s weakness. At least that’s what ARK Invest thinks. Tesla’s much-touted Full Self Driving (FSD) feature is already being tested by a large number of users.Tesla has a unique advantage in the sense that it has had a large number of vehicles on the road collecting data for years. No other brand comes even close to what Tesla has in the form of training data. This means that once Tesla has a workable Robotaxi model and it hits the road, it will be able to learn form its experiences way quicker than Waymo or Baidu’s fleet.This advantage will be crucial when it comes to scaling. While other companies focus on reducing costs to scale their fleet, Tesla can simply integrate its FSD technology into its existing fleet of over 3 million vehicles. Cost-cutting may not even be needed once Tesla drives competition out of the picture!Tesla’s advantage therefore is immense, which is why ARK Invest has such a bullish stance on the company’s FSD technology. Coupled with humanoid robots, Tesla could easily become the most valuable company in the world a few years from now.The post Despite Baidu and Waymo’s lead, Tesla will scale robotaxis quicker: ARK Invest analyst appeared first on Invezz