During an insightful interview with Bloomberg's Ed Ludlow, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA), expressed high regard for Tesla Inc.'s (NASDAQ: TSLA) Full Self-Driving system. Huang characterized Tesla’s autonomous driving technology as difficult to fault, acknowledging it as at the forefront of contemporary robotics for driverless vehicles.
Expanding on the distinctions between Nvidia's autonomous driving platform, known as Alpamayo, and Tesla's FSD, Huang outlined how Alpamayo uniquely employs a combination of vision cameras, radar systems, and LiDAR sensors. This multi-sensor fusion represents Nvidia’s attempt to diversify the data inputs for driving intelligence. Despite this, Huang pointed out that the underlying technology bears considerable similarity to Tesla’s approach focused on camera-based perception.
"I think Elon’s strategy is about what’s state-of-the-art, as anyone familiar with autonomous robotics would recognize," Huang conveyed. His comments underscore an acknowledgement of Tesla’s significant technological advancements in self-driving capabilities, reflecting respect from a peer company deeply involved in AI hardware and software development.
Furthermore, Huang conveyed encouragement for Tesla's continued efforts in pushing self-driving boundaries, signaling a collegial tone despite Tesla's position as a market rival.
Parallel to Huang’s remarks, Elon Musk has recently spotlighted Tesla's in-house AI4 chip. He highlighted that producing its own chip technology allowed Tesla to avoid potentially doubling its investment, which would have been necessary had the company continued relying solely on Nvidia’s hardware for AI training. Musk also critiqued the broader automotive industry’s comparatively tepid investment in AI and autonomous driving development.
Adding to the autonomous vehicle competitive landscape, Lucid Group Inc. (NASDAQ: LCID), a key player among electric vehicle manufacturers, unveiled its robotaxi prototype, signaling interest in autonomous mobility solutions across the sector.
Musk has also commented on Nvidia’s position within autonomous technology, noting potential distribution challenges Nvidia may encounter in scaling their self-driving solutions widely. Despite this, Musk expressed well-wishes for Nvidia’s endeavors in advancing autonomous driving technologies.
Assessing timelines, Musk suggested that Nvidia’s tech might not pose a substantial competitive challenge to Tesla’s FSD system for several years, referencing a period of approximately five to six years before convergence might occur.
Importantly, Nvidia maintains a strategic investment interest in Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI. The company recently announced the successful raise of more than $20 billion in Series E funding, with prominent backers including Cisco Investments (NASDAQ: CSCO), the Qatar Investment Authority, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX. This collaboration showcases an intertwining of investment and developmental interests between Nvidia and Musk’s ventures beyond automotive applications.
Tesla’s stock performance metrics exhibit strengths in momentum and overall quality, but valuation metrics lag behind. Its price trend remains favorable across short, medium, and long durations, reflecting sustained investor interest despite some volatility.
At market close, Tesla shares declined 4.14% to $432.96, before recovering slightly with a 0.46% gain during after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro data. The mixed trading activity underscores an active market assessing Tesla’s technological positioning alongside competitive pressures.