Recently, Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, took to social media to assert that Waymo has "never truly stood a chance" in the autonomous driving arena, igniting a firestorm of debate within the industry. Earlier, Jeff Dean, the Chief Scientist at Google DeepMind, drew a stark comparison between the two companies, highlighting that Tesla's autonomous driving mileage, sans safety drivers, significantly trails behind that of Waymo. Waymo's most recent safety statistics reveal that the accident rate leading to severe injuries from its autonomous driving system is a staggering 91% lower than that of human drivers. Moreover, Waymo has already rolled out fully driverless commercial services in four major U.S. cities, including San Francisco. In stark contrast, Tesla has not only fallen short of achieving commercial operation without safety drivers but has also faced frequent criticism over its safety reports, which are continuously monitored by humans, thus failing to independently showcase the software's performance.

Despite these shortcomings, Musk has boldly announced plans to eliminate safety drivers from Tesla's autonomous taxi fleet in Austin within the next three weeks. Industry analysts have pointed out that Musk's statements are disconnected from reality. Waymo has racked up nearly 100 million miles of autonomous driving experience, whereas Tesla's relevant mileage remains at a standstill at zero. Even if safety drivers are removed as planned, Tesla will still find itself roughly five years behind Waymo and will subsequently face the daunting tasks of safety verification and large-scale deployment.

In terms of technical approaches, Tesla has opted for a pure vision solution, relying heavily on cameras and artificial intelligence technology. This method is cost-effective but remains a topic of debate due to its processing capabilities in complex scenarios. On the other hand, Waymo has embraced a multi-sensor fusion solution, outfitting its vehicles with LiDAR, cameras, millimeter-wave radar, and more. This approach offers superior safety but is not without its challenges, such as outdated map updates and the high costs associated with cross-city expansion.