Custom silicon seems like a much harder problem for VM/Toyota. Unless a supplier can build something for them I don’t see either company innovating like Tesla. Basically Tesla’s secret sauce is the Tech not the EV components.
You can scale up manufacturing of inferior batteries, but you still will have an inferior product.
Isn't it Panasonic that manufactures the batteries and sells them to Tesla? Can't they sell the same batteries to everyone else too?
The intellectual property for the chemistry is 100% Tesla’s and can not be reused by Panasonic for other manufacturers. In places where Panasonic builds batteries for other manufacturers, they use more traditional chemistry that includes more rare earth metals. Tesla’s chemistry is patented and can’t be duplicated. It is one of their several “moats”.
If/when Tesla increases battery production beyond its storage and car/semi lines of business, they will probably acquire/merge other car companies on the cheap.
The only thing that can eliminate Tesla's advantage is a catch-up solid battery tech that everyone has access to, and even then Tesla will have lots of infrastructure advantages.
The supposed battery advantage isn't really there. So hopefully the Maxwell stuff is better.
Traditional automakers would rather have batteries that don't easily overheat or catch fire when damaged (NMC) than cheaper batteries (NCA).
It's just one example, but here is a new porsche ev that caught fire https://electrek.co/2020/02/17/porsche-taycan-fire-burning-g.... Does porsche use nmc batteries? What is the problem with nca, where from experience the overall product is superior to all comers?
What evidence is there that custom silicon has any advantage in the self-driving race, let alone in cost competitiveness?
Their hardware (maybe, at best) solves one of the easy pieces of the self-driving puzzle. It doesn't get them any closer to solving the hard parts. But it sure helps from a marketing perspective, which is kind of important if you want to continue selling a $6000 feature that essentially is just a promise for the future and thus requires buyers to "believe".
Nvidia built a custom chip for Nintendo, I'm sure they would build one for Toyota or VW.
Continued improvements to battery tech will bring the costs down for Tesla which is important for them to do if they want to succeed.
Custom hardware and software will also give them cost advantage and help them in the long term.
Mobileye?
https://www.wsj.com/articles/mobileye-ends-partnership-with-...
" Mobileye NV said it would no longer provide its computer chips and algorithms to Tesla after a current contract ends due to disagreements about how the technology was deployed. Mobileye provides core technology for Tesla’s Autopilot system, which allows cars to drive themselves in limited conditions."