• Tesla must face vehicle owners’ lawsuit over self-driving claims (Reuters, May 15, 2024)

  A U.S. judge rejected Tesla’s request to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the company misled owners about their vehicles’ self-driving capabilities. The class action claims that since 2016, Tesla and Elon Musk falsely advertised Autopilot and self-driving technology as functional or imminent, prompting higher vehicle payments. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin allowed fraud-based claims related to hardware capabilities, stating Tesla’s representations could be considered false if implying readiness for high automation. Some claims were dismissed, and neither Tesla nor the plaintiffs’ lawyers commented. The lawsuit, led by Thomas LoSavio, seeks damages for buyers of Tesla vehicles with self-driving features since 2016. The case is In re Tesla Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 22-05240.

• UK’s autonomous vehicle legislation becomes law, paving the way for first driverless cars by 2026 (Tech Crunch, May 20, 2024)

  The Automated Vehicles (AV) Act has just passed, putting the U.K. at the forefront of self-driving technology regulations.  The U.K. has allowed driverless cars on roads for many years, with strict rules in place for companies to test new technologies.  With the advancement of the autonomous vehicle industry, the new legislation is expected to improve road safety by reducing human error.  The new legislation also addresses liability in the event of a crash, which will make the corporations responsible instead of humans, if the car is in self-driving mode.

• Volvo teams up with Aurora to reveal an autonomous semi truck (The Verge, May 20, 2024)

  Volvo has unveiled its first “production-ready” self-driving truck developed in collaboration with Aurora, an autonomous driving technology company. This truck, based on Volvo’s Class 8 VNL semi-truck, is equipped with sensors and cameras for Aurora’s Level 4 autonomous driving system, allowing driverless operation. Nils Jaeger, president of Volvo Autonomous Solutions, emphasizes the truck’s design for scalability to other models and regions. Production will occur at Volvo’s New River Valley plant in Virginia.

  Volvo, producing 10% of global Class 8 trucks, began its partnership with Aurora in 2018, accruing 1.5 million miles in tests. Aurora aims to deploy 20 autonomous trucks in 2023, expanding to 100 by 2025 and scaling up by 2027 with German auto supplier Continental. Despite setbacks in the industry, including some companies folding and others delaying deployment, Volvo and Aurora remain committed to advancing autonomous truck technology.

Tesla has long enjoyed a competitive advantage in the EV space by providing charging via its Supercharging stations, the largest and most reliable charging network in North America by a wide margin. This superior fast-charging network was a key aspect of Tesla’s early sales pitch to reticent electrification converts—and it has remained a key component of the company’s tremendous success since.

Tesla historically walled of its charging network by using a proprietary plug design known as the North American Charging Standard (NACS), which until very recently was not compatible with other automakers’ EVs that typically charge using the Combined Charging System (CCS) plug standard. Through the use of NACS, Tesla has been able to tightly integrate its entire charging ecosystem, while other competing charging networks have remained fragmented and unreliable. In a study last year, researchers at the University of California at Berkeley found that almost a quarter of the 675 CCS fast chargers in the San Francisco Bay Area were inoperable, while a more comprehensive August 2022 study by JD Power concluded that Tesla’s Supercharger network was far more reliable than CCS chargers in other parts of the country.

Given the superiority of Tesla’s Supercharger network and the concomitant economic advantage Tesla has maintained over its competitors as a result, many were shocked by announcements over the past few months that Tesla had reached agreements with Ford, GM, Mercedes-Benz, Polestar, Volvo, Nissan, Fisker, and Rivian to make the Tesla Supercharger network available to their drivers through an adapted NACS port. Initial reactions saw these deals as a curious concession by Tesla that could finally level the charging playing field and allow other automakers to ramp up sales of their own EVs.

So why did Tesla let its competitors inside the gates of its charging network? At first glance, it appears that Tesla will certainly add additional revenue to its coffers from increased use of its charging ports. Indeed, analyst Piper Sandler estimates that, by 2030, Tesla will earn $3 billion in charging fees from non-Tesla drivers. Tesla also may reap the benefits of the implicit endorsement of its technology as the superior standard, which could further result in a share of the public EV-charging subsidies available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

From a public relations standpoint, Tesla has consistently maintained that the primary reason for opening up its Supercharger network is to assist the acceleration of EV adoption and the world’s transition to sustainable energy by removing infrastructure barriers. Upon closer examination, however, Tesla’s motives may be far less altruistic. In fact, the real impetus for Tesla’s sudden change of heart may simply be what is quickly becoming the equivalent of gold in the connected car market: data, and lots of it. 

It is no secret that Tesla uses cellular and WiFi data ports to collect what one investigation called a “hoard” of data about any car that plugs into its Supercharger network, tracking a plethora of data points from vehicle performance to driver preferences. By letting it competitors freely access its chargers, Tesla may also be covertly positioning itself to siphon critical and highly valuable vehicle data from its competitors under the guise of charging collaboration. In addition to affording invaluable insight into its competitors’ EV specifications and performance, this move may also provide Tesla with yet another lucrative revenue stream in the form of vehicle data sales, which some predict could be worth more than $800 billion by the end of the decade.

Tesla’s bid to get the entire EV industry to adopt its NACS plug could be a harbinger of Tesla’s future designs on supplying or licensing its arguably superior technology to other automakers who either don’t want to or can’t invest sufficient capital to develop EV components or technology organically. In fact, Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently confirmed during an earnings call that Tesla is in advanced discussions with major OEMs regarding the licensing of its Autopilot and FSD technology, which not so coincidentally would require other automakers to onboard both Tesla’s software and hardware suites, thus creating yet another trove of accessible vehicle data.

By continuing to leverage its competitive advantages through the utilization of unparalleled access to a broad range of vehicle data, Tesla may actually be implementing an ingenious plan to corner the EV market on key components such as technology, batteries, plugs, chargers, and even drivetrains. Yes, we are talking about a future EV landscape, backed by public subsides at every level, that could be completely dominated by Tesla. 

Regardless of Tesla’s actual intentions, it is becoming more and more apparent that access to vehicle data is the gateway to innovation and market dominance. In this regard, Tesla certainly appears to have a substantial leg up on all other automakers, who seem to always be a little late to the EV game, which whether you like him or hate him, is currently being dominated by Elon Musk.

Copyright Nelson Niehaus LLC

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Firm, its clients, or any of its or their respective affiliates. This blog post is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

• Tesla loses bid to overturn Louisiana’s ban on direct car sales (Reuters, June 16, 2023)

  Tesla continues to challenge state dealer franchise laws restricting direct-to-consumer vehicle sales, with mixed results. As noted below and previously, some states have rolled back their laws for Tesla and other EV manufacturers who have eschewed the traditional dealer model to sell directly and online. But Louisiana will not be joining that list, at least not for now. Last Friday, a federal court blocked Tesla’s challenge to a Louisiana franchise law, granting the State’s motion to dismiss and finding the state’s “direct sales ban applies equally to all manufacturers, and Tesla has alleged no facts regarding anti-Tesla animus on the part of the Louisiana Legislature.” The Court’s full decision can be accessed here.

• Florida bans direct-to-consumer auto sales but leaves carve-out for Tesla (CBS News, June 16, 2023)

  While Tesla struck out in Louisiana, EV manufacturers seemingly scored a major victory in the direct-to-consumer fight last week when Florida Governor Ron Desantis approved HB 637. The new law bans legacy automakers like Ford and General Motors from offering direct-to-consumer or online sales options if the company already sells vehicles in the Sunshine State through existing dealerships, but it contains an exception for EV makers like Tesla that do not already market and sell vehicles through independent dealerships in Florida. The law, which takes effect July 1, appears to be the first to uniquely and intentionally create a competitive advantage for Tesla and other similarly situated manufacturers.

• Volvo CEO Jim Rowan on the Toughest Challenge Facing Automakers (Time, June 18, 2023)

  When Jim Rowan took over earlier this year as CEO of Volvo, the Swedish automaker had already committed to electrification and automotive innovation. But Rowan brings an “outsider’s perspective”—with a history of running non-automotive, tech-forward companies like Blackberry—and says in this interview that the biggest challenge for automakers right now is “integrating more and better technology into cars: the kind of computing power that will bring about more advanced assisted driving features, digital connectivity, and allow auto companies to take advantage of the vast amounts of data they can start collecting.” Rowan adds the “auto companies that get this right, and come out as leaders, I think will become some of the biggest tech companies of the next decade or two decades, even.”

  Still, Rowan sees full autonomy as still very much a thing of the future, due in large part to regulatory and infrastructure challenges. Like Mobileye’s leadership, Rowan rejects the classic five levels of autonomy, preferring to think instead in terms of “two levels: hands on the steering wheel, eyes on the road, and hands off the steering wheel, eyes on the screen,” because “[a]nything else is confusing for the customer.” The latter, he says, is likely many years away on a widespread basis.

  Read the full interview for more of Rowan’s thoughts on the future of Volvo; its newest and most affordable EV, the EX30; industry challenges; and the value of government incentives.

• Tesla opens its EV charge connector in the hope of making it the new standard (Electrek, November 11, 2022)

  Tesla announced that it has renamed its electric car charge connector—now calling it the “North American Charging Standard (NACS)”—and has opened up the design to other manufacturers. Tesla explained the move in a public statement, saying “[w]e invite charging network operators and vehicle manufacturers to put the Tesla charging connector and charge port … on their equipment and vehicles. NACS is the most common charging standard in North America: NACS vehicles outnumber CCS two-to-one, and Tesla’s Supercharging network has 60% more NACS posts than all the CCS-equipped networks combined.”

  Whether Tesla will get buy-in from the industry remains to be seen. As of now, CCS is the dominant standard not just in North America but also in Europe, and most EVs on the market are delivered with CCS connectors. 

  Why is Tesla making this move? One explanation, according to this article, is that Tesla charging stations currently do not qualify for federal incentives. “[T]he US government recently unlocked billions of dollars in funding for EV charging stations, and while the government didn’t require those stations to work with the CCS connector, it did require that the charging stations receiving funding work with EVs ‘from more than one automaker.’” If even one automaker adopted Tesla’s design, incentives would become available for Tesla’s Supercharger network.

  Read Tesla’s full announcement and find the charger design specs here.

• Driver of Tesla blames company for deadly crash caught on video in China (Yahoo News, November 14, 2022)

  Harrowing footage captured earlier this month by surveillance cameras throughout Chaozhou, Guangdong province in China show a Tesla Model Y careening through the streets at speeds up to 123 mph, crashing into or nearly missing pedestrians, cyclists, and other vehicles before slamming into a building. A motorcyclist and student were killed; three others were injured. The driver, a 55-year-old former truck driver, survived.

  According to his family, the driver tried to slow the Tesla but neither the brakes nor park button would respond. Reports suggest the vehicle was operating in Autopilot. Tesla denies that the driver made any effort to apply the brakes, relying on crash data from the vehicle and the fact that no brake lights appear in the video. Tesla has committed to “actively providing ‘any necessary aid’ to the local police.”

  The surveillance video is available on YouTube and linked through this article. We warn that it is graphic.

• Volvo reveals new $80,000 electric SUV with Luminar lidar (CNBC, November 9, 2022)

  Volvo’s new “flagship” vehicle is a seven-passenger all-electric SUV branded as the EX90. The first in Volvo’s planned all-electric lineup, the EX90 will start at $80,000 and is expected to get up to 300 miles/charge. It will begin delivery in 2024.

  “The car also marks the introduction of Luminar Technologies’ lidar system as standard equipment in a commercially built vehicle. Many in the automotive industry believe lidar is the next-generation of safety technology and a step closer to more highly-automated or autonomous vehicles.” As noted in our November 2 newsletter, Luminar’s CEO, Austin Russell, has been an outspoken critic of Elon Musk’s view that LiDAR is unnecessary for full self-driving. Volvo’s decision to incorporate Luminar’s technology as standard on the EX90 is seen as validation for Russell’s view and its “longtime strategy—supporting driver-assist technologies that seek to assist a human driver, not replace the driver.”

• Tesla secures a deal to make cars safer through an over-the-air update (ZD Net, October 13, 2022)

  Tesla drivers in North America soon will have access to the Hazard Enhanced Location Protocol (HELP) developed by Emergency Safety Solutions (ESS). The technology is intended to solve the highly-publicized problem of Tesla vehicles failing to detect and colliding with stationary first responder vehicles—an issue that remains under investigation by NHTSA.

  According to Electrek’s report, “ESS’ Hazard Enhanced Location Protocol (H.E.L.P.®) is designed to provide highly conspicuous lighting and digital communication using existing vehicle lighting systems, in-vehicle telematics, OEM cloud platforms and navigation application systems.

  HELP will be made available to Tesla drivers through over-the-air updates.

• Software company Zenseact uses cutting-edge AI to boost safety systems in Polestar 3 (PR Newswire, October 13, 2022)

  Polestar’s latest model, the Polestar 3, will incorporate OnePilot, an AI-powered “precautionary safety” software designed by Zenseact. Zenseact was founded by Volvo with the goal of improving vehicle safety by “designing the complete software stack for advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous driving.”

  OnePilot will allow the Polestar 3 to adjust speed and position, and keep the car centered even without visible lane markings, through real-time data inputs and over-the-air software updates. At the same time, the OnePilot software will “gradually learn to handle more complex traffic scenarios and be increasingly capable of eliminating collisions” through its collection of data from the Polestar fleet.

  For more information about OnePilot, watch this promotional video from Zenseact.

• Why Cruise is making its own chips, and a lot more besides (TechCrunch, October 16, 2022)

  Beginning in 2019, GM’s Cruise began to develop its own hardware, including boards and sensors, for its robotaxi fleet. This unusual shift to in-house production came following the company’s realization that “the price of chips from suppliers was too high, the parts were too big and the reliability of the third-party technology just wasn’t there.” In addition, Cruise found that “a lot of the components that have the robustness needed to operate in a harsh automotive environment didn’t have the capabilities needed for an AV” while the “components that did have the (AV) capabilities needed weren’t capable of operating in those harsh environments.” The cost savings of this in-house move is significant; for boards and radar, for example, Cruise’s long-term cost reduction is around 90%.

  Cruise still relies on third-party suppliers for long-range lidars and ultrasonic sensors, but has moved nearly all other parts manufacturing in-house, including for cameras and shorter-range lidar and radar. Cruise’s in-house parts are being used in the Bolt and in the forthcoming Origin robotaxi, and likely will find their way into GM’s planned consumer AV line.