Waymo CEO says Tesla is not a competitor, giving an estimate of the cost of autonomous vehicles

In an interview with a German business publication Magazine Manager, Waymo CEO John Krafcik said Tesla is not competing with Waymo.

He said Tesla was instead developing a “very good driver support system,” adding that Tesla requires a driver to interact regularly with the steering wheel. Waymo wants passengers not to get caught on the wheel while working.

Some autonomous vehicle developers, including Tesla, have decided to go ahead with LiDAR units, in exchange for advanced AI and camera systems.

“It is a misconception that you can just keep developing a driver support system so that one day you can jump to a fully automated driving system,” he said. “In terms of strength and precision, for example, our sensors are better sized orders than we see on the road from other manufacturers. ”

Tesla currently has a beta version of their “Full Self-Driving” system, but it needs to be operated by a vigilant, licensed driver behind the wheel. Tesla aims to deliver a fully self-driving “autonomous” system that requires no driver communication, along with an automated robotaxi service.

Unlike Tesla, Waymo does not make its own vehicles, instead relying on third-party partners, including Stellantis and Jaguar Land Rover.

In the interview, Krafcik also commented on how much each of the company’s vehicles will cost.

“Let me re-filter like this: If we equip a Chrysler Pacifica Van or a Jaguar I-Pace with our sensors and computers, it won’t cost more than a mid-range Mercedes S-Class. So for the whole package, including the car – today, ”he said in the interview.

Mercedes Benz S-Class with medium equipment sells for around $ 180,000 in the US It is worth noting that Waymo has no standard plans to sell their modified vehicles to the public and will operate them in a riding service. autonomous instead. (Although Krafcik said that it may eventually introduce a membership module that will allow users to rent their own Waymo car.)

Krafcik made the point, as some analysts predict that autonomous vehicle technology will be too expensive to adopt a masse. Waymo uses LiDAR sensors in its vehicles, which previously sold for up to $ 75,000. In 2019, Krafcik indicated that its Honeycomb LiDAR units now cost around $ 7,500.

“The costs of the technology are hugely overstated – at least in our case,” he told the publication. While Krafcik said he could not speak for autonomous vehicle software developers, he said Waymo has been able to achieve significant cost reductions over the past decade.

With this system, Krafcik said the company expects the hardware cost per thousand Waymo vehicles to come in at around 30 cents per mile. This cost does not include maintenance and other service costs, including naval technicians and mission support agents.

He said traditional equestrian services, such as Uber and Lyft, come in at $ 2-3 per mile, which leaves enough margin for Waymo to sustain and grow its activities at a lower price point than the two competitors.

Both Uber and Lyft have also made significant investments in the world of independence, hoping to reduce operating costs and help these companies sustain higher profits. Uber recently sold its autonomous vehicle unit to Waymo’s rival Aurora Innovation, but invested $ 400 million in the start-up currency at a valuation of $ 10 billion.

This is while Lyft plans to partner with AV startup Motional, a joint venture between Hyundai and Aptiv, to roll out autonomous vehicles in several U.S. cities by 2023.