Tesla gave up the EV crown. Now it wants to win the autonomy race.
by Kana Inagaki, Financial Times from Ars Technica - All content on (#79APS)
Elon Musk's flying" Roadster jumped and flipped through the air this month in a stunt that went viral around the world. But his bigger bet is on changing the way Tesla makes money-and the wider car industry is scrambling to catch up.
Five days after the spectacle, made possible by compressed-gas thrusters developed by Musk's SpaceX, he revealed the companies were exploring a merger that could accelerate his push into autonomous driving.
At stake is more than a technological race. Car groups, already grappling with growing Chinese competition, are seeking to move beyond a business model centered on vehicle sales towards one that also generates recurring revenues from software and AI-powered services.