BYD Did What Tesla Never Would. Just Not For The Reasons You'd Hope

At the tail end of 2016, Nikki sat on a press call with other journalists — and Tesla CEO Elon Musk — after the automaker announced its latest iteration of its semi-autonomous driver assistance system: Tesla Autopilot 2.0.

She asked a simple question: since Volvo had just promised to indemnify drivers against blame if its semi-autonomous system caused an accident, would Tesla do the same thing? Elon Musk said "No" — but not with a simple reply. He did so by railing against automotive journalists who he accused of killing people.

It's been ten years — and we just heard of an automaker finally promising to indemnify its customers from blame, and financial costs, if its semi-autonomous system caused an accident. Enter BYD, which is making that bold promise in relation to its own system — God's Eye. But while BYD is making the pledge, and the automotive media is excited by the promise, there's a layer of nuance missing.

So today, we're going to dig deep, examine the past and the present, and ask just why Tesla never offered indemnity — while BYD now is. Unfortunately, it's not for the reasons we'd hope. And the two firms' very different approaches come back to the same base motivation: money and survival.

⏱️ Chapter Breakdown:

00:00 - Introduction
01:10 - The Question That Got Me Blacklisted
07:21 - World Heart Rhythm Week
09:02 - Please Support The Channel
10:12 - What BYD Announced
11:34 - Understanding SAE Levels of Autonomy
13:56 - Most People Don't Understand Autonomous Driving
15:14 - Where The Technology Actually Was In 2015
16:55 - Tesla's Promises
20:25 - Why Tesla Knew Its System Wasn't Ready
23:23 - Protecting Tesla From Its Own Promises
24:43 - The Challenges of Offering Liability
29:48 - It's About Advertising And Brand Loyalty
30:59 - The US And China Are Very Different
32:03 - China Is Less Litigious Than The US
33:59 - China Is Trending Toward Mandatory Indemnity
35:31 - It's About Competitive Edge
36:05 - BYD's God's Eye Has A Problem
38:35 - A Very Smart PR Stunt
40:04 - Money. And Survival.
40:45 - Thanks, And Goodbye!