“King Tesla”, if we are to put it that way, has always dominated the automotive industry, particularly the electric side of it. However, today we speak of something else, something more dominant and powerful. As always, China will make sure it catches up or surpasses the expectation radar, and with its famous BYD, it is unveiling groundbreaking moves. China’s BYD has recently unveiled a masterpiece called “God’s Eye”, and it seeks to provide advanced autonomy for everyone, for free. Therefore, goodbye to Tesla Autopilot, which still requires expensive add-on fees and is not fully autonomous, and hello, BYD.
China unveiled this masterpiece at a time when Tesla was drowning and desperately needed a boost. Besides that, Tesla has been criticised lately for its brand and the cost and limitations of its driver-assist technology, and is currently awaiting Chinese regulatory certification for FSD. In the same market, BYD is making moves by making smart technology that makes us perceive autonomy differently.
According to Wired, in 2024 BYD overtook Tesla and was named the largest EV vehicle brand and manufacturer, and for Elon Musk’s brand, competition has been tough ever since. There is no one to stroke their ego because China just dropped a bomb. China increased its market share by 27%, while Tesla dropped by 4.5%, leaving it lagging.
What sets “God’s Eye” apart? Real-time shared perception, not just cameras
One thing brands should understand is that you can have a multi-billion-dollar competitive brand, but if you lose your community and customers along the way, you have lost the competition. That is where Tesla and BYD differ. Therefore, what sets “God’s Eye” apart? The answer is connection and collaboration. God’s Eye is made to be open and provide important information such as traffic patterns, road conditions, and other factors.
On the other hand, Tesla mainly uses the sensors and neural network of each vehicle to make decisions. It creates a cloud-based awareness network in which each car adds to and has access to a common pool of real-time driving data. This could imply that a BYD car ahead of it can spot a pothole or a collision and instantly notify the cars behind it.
God’s Eye is not fully autonomous, quite similar to Tesla
The billionaire founder of BYD made a strong emphasis that God’s Eye is not fully autonomous as he was bragging during an event In February this year. He expressed that, as much as we need and consider airbags and seatbelts to be important, that is exactly how intelligent driving will be perceived. Because God’s Eye is L2+ ADAS, like Tesla’s FSD, it would still need a human driver to supervise it on a public road.
While Tesla is stalling in China, BYD is rapidly catching up
BYD ounder Wang Chuanfu said at an event:
“[We are] starting an era where autonomous driving is for everyone.”
Additionally, Jefferies analyst Johnson Wan was quoted as saying:
“BYD has now gone from 0 to 1 in (autonomous driving) development, which will accelerate the adoption rate of the function in the mass market and lead to a wave of upgrades by existing users.”
Tesla’s problems are not a secret but are all over the globe, and because of regulation delays and privacy concerns, the friction it has with Europe has contributed to Tesla’s bumpy roads. However, China is not feeling sorry for the former EV ruler; BYD is secretly building an empire, striking at the perfect moment, allowing it to soar. BYD is not yet operational in the U.S., and we should not expect it anytime soon due to the tariff situation. Additionally, its market is open to Europe and, of course, its home, China. Before we know it, BYD will be thriving like never before.
