As Wedbush's Dan Ives and Ark Invest's Cathie Wood have said, Tesla (TSLA) -) is not a normal car company. It's a tech (and AI) company that happens to sell cars. This high-tech approach has given Tesla a strong advantage in the EV field and in the self-driving field; because self-driving technology is powered by AI, the more data a given company has, the better it can make its models.
Tesla has a lot of data-gathering cars on the road, putting itself in a strong position to continue to level up its FSD, despite the numerous ongoing investigations into the safety of the technology.
Related: Tesla rival Mercedes reveals bold long-range electric vehicle challenge
But there are other ways to overcome Tesla's moat.
BMW (BMWYY) -), in a new partnership with Amazon Web Services (AMZN) -), will build its semi-autonomous driving systems using Amazon's cloud computing technology. BMW will take advantage of AWS' generative AI, Internet of Things, machine learning and data storage to help boost its ongoing automation efforts.
The European automaker's next-generation advanced driver assist system (ADAS) will be available as part of its recently revealed Neue Klasse range of EVs, which will launch in 2025.
This push to increase automation comes as carmakers around the world are finding new ways to challenge Tesla's EV dominance, which has become synonymous with self-driving and Autopilot, the company's version of ADAS.
Despite the investigations and ongoing controversy, Teslas have accumulated some 300 million self-driving miles as of July 19, according to Chief Executive Elon Musk.
BMW's own ADAS efforts will require an enormous amount of data processing and storage ability.
More Tesla:
- Tesla chief Elon Musk says he's 'not building a house anywhere' in wake of federal investigation
- Here's why the Tesla bears are very wrong, according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives
- Tesla's hidden 'Elon Mode' has NHTSA regulators extremely concerned
Enter, Amazon.
"Implementing these systems on the BMW Group’s international scale requires an approach that can process and analyze vast amounts of data, as well as learn and innovate, so automakers can develop safer and more reliable automated and ADAS systems," Wendy Bauer, general manager of automotive and manufacturing at AWS said in a press release.
As part of its push into scalable ADAS, BMW will additionally be teaming up again with Qualcomm Technologies, which will work with AWS and BMW engineers to help the carmaker develop and enhance its self-driving capabilities.
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