Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla is currently in talks with “one major automaker about licensing Full Self-Driving (FSD)”.

Back in 2021, Musk did say that he had early discussions with other automakers about licensing self-driving technology, but that didn’t lead to anything.

Last year, the CEO made an announcement that Tesla would be open to licensing Autopilot and FSD to other automakers.

However, earlier this year, Musk said that “automakers don’t believe Tesla Full Self-Driving is real”.

Now, the CEO has given an update about the FSD licensing effort during the conference call following the release of Tesla’s Q1 2024 results.

Musk announced that Tesla is “in talks with one major automaker about licensing Full Self-Driving.”

The CEO didn’t reveal which major automaker Tesla is talking to, but he did say that there’s “a good chance” a deal is signed this year.

However, Tesla’s management did mention that even if a licensing deal comes this year, it would likely be 3 years before an OEM can implement it into a vehicle program.

Tesla plans to supply its self-driving on-board computers and cameras to OEMs and license them the software, which Tesla currently sells for $8,000 or $99 a month.

Electrek’s Take

I could see Tesla convincing one or two OEMs now that it has v12, which is much more viable than anything it had before – giving a much-needed credibility boost to its self-driving effort.

When it comes to actual automakers, Tesla does seem to be ahead for level 4 autonomous driving. Waymo is obviously ahead as it is commercially deployed already, albeit with a different geo-fenced approach. But it’s also not an automaker.

If we talk about automakers outside of China, other than Mercedes-Benz with its level 3 system, Tesla is leading, in my opinion.

I could see an automaker like Ford being interested. Tesla has been getting closer to the company in recent years, for example, it was the first to adopt NACS. The company also had some bad luck with investments into self-driving, like partnering with Argo Ai, which went under.

The company could be interested in off-loading autonomy completely to Tesla – even though it is a big concession.

I am sure that if it does happen, the move will be criticized because Telsa has yet to achieve self-driving. However, if v12 can build enough confidence to show a clear path to get there, I can see a deal happening quick because as Tesla highlighted, it will take years to integrate the technology into another OME’s vehicle program.

Elon Musk announced that Tesla may start selling its Optimus humanoid robot next year. The automaker plans to use the robot in its own factory by the end of the year.

A few months ago, Tesla unveiled “Optimus Gen 2”, a new generation of its humanoid robot that should be able to take over repetitive tasks from humans.

The new prototype showed a lot of improvements compared to previously underwhelming versions of the robot, and it gave some credibility to the project, which was laughed off by many when first announced with a dancer disguised as a robot for visual aid a few years ago.

Tesla believed it to be possible by leveraging its AI work on its self-driving vehicle program and expertise in batteries and electric motors. It argued that its vehicles are already robots on wheels. Now, it just needs to make them in humanoid forms to be able to replace humans in some tasks – primarily repetitive and dangerous tasks.

In a previous update on Optimus, Tesla CEO Elon Musk claimed that the “Optimus stuff is extremely underrated.” The CEO said that the demand could be as high as 10 to 20 billion units.

He went as far as “confidently predicting” that Optimus will account for “a majority of Tesla’s long-term value.”

The CEO sees everyone having a Tesla Optimus robot at home on top of them taking over a lot of manufacturing and service jobs.

With the release of Tesla’s Q1 2024 financial results, Musk gave an update on the timing for the rollout of Optimus. The CEO says that Optimus is already performing factory tasks inside its lab. He believes that Optimus will be used to perform real tasks inside actual Tesla factories by the end of the year.

Furthermore, Musk said that he believes Tesla could start selling its Optimus humanoid robot to customers outside of the company by the end of 2025.

The CEO again reiterated that he expects Optimus to represent most of Tesla’s revenue and overall value eventually.

Musk previously said that he expects Optimus to cost “less than half of a car” – so closer to $25,000.

GreenPower (Nasdaq: GP) today announced the launch of its customizable EV Star Utility Truck, an electric all-purpose utility truck.

The EV Star Utility Truck is upfitted by GP Truck Body, a GreenPower subsidiary, on the GreenPower EV Star Cab & Chassis. The electric utility truck is GP Truck Body’s 10th truck body upfit.

It has a 118 kWh battery, a range of up to 150 miles, and a typical payload capacity of 5,500 pounds that can increase up to 6,000 pounds.

It can DC fast charge at 60 kW in around two hours and has a wireless DC fast charging option. At Level 2, up to 19.2 kW AC, it can charge in around eight hours.

GreenPower’s EV Star Utility Truck can be customized to meet the needs of various vocational applications and utility use cases, including agriculture and landscape, carpentry, construction, electrical, heating and cooling, and plumbing.

It’s equipped with optional power sources, providing accessible power through built-in plugs to accommodate mobile tool charging. Drill need charging? Plug it in on the truck and continue to your next job.

The front box of the EV Star Utility Truck has an optional full pass-through capacity, allowing for oversized tools and supplies. It offers tailored contractor body configurations, coming in a standard bed size of 16 feet, with the option to customize the length.

In addition to the EV Star Utility Truck, GP Truck Body also offers dry freight, refrigerated boxes, aluminum stakebeds, steel and aluminum flatbeds, and service bodies.

Read more: This new electric school bus has a 300-mile range

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