Tesla splits with key Autopilot supplier
Musk: Breakup with Mobileye was ‘inevitable’
Tesla and Mobileye, one of the top suppliers to its Autopilot partial self-driving system, are parting ways in the wake of the May accident that killed an owner of one of its electric Model S sedans.
Mobileye is considered a leader in developing the equipment that will be needed for fully self-driving cars.
The Israeli tech company will continue to support and maintain current Tesla products, including upgrades that should help the Autopilot system with crash avoidance and to better allow the car to steer itself, Chairman Amnon Shashua said in releasing the company’s second-quarter earnings Tuesday.
Shashua said moving cars to higher levels of self-driving capability “is a paradigm shift both in terms of function complexity and the need to ensure an extremely high level of safety.” He added there is “much at stake” in terms of Mobileye’s reputation and that it is best to end the relationship with Tesla by the end of the year. He didn’t elaborate.
“Us parting ways was somewhat inevitable,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said. “There’s nothing unexpected here from our standpoint. We’re committed to autonomy. They’ll go their way, and we’ll go ours.”
The split follows the accident that killed an Ohio man, Joshua Brown, on a Florida highway. He reportedly was driving his car with the Autopilot self-driving function engaged when a truck turned in front of him. His Tesla Model S struck the truck, killing him.
Mobileye issued a statement after the crash saying its system is not designed to detect cross traffic yet, although it may have a system ready by 2018. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are both investigating the accident.