Mobileye rips Tesla Autopilot, Chairman says it dumped Tesla

[Bgarret]

So this is the picture being painted of Mobileye's business dealings by Tesla and Hotz (and by MBLY themselves)

1. MBLY will coerce you to use their technology by working with regulators to lower your ratings if you don't use them.
2. If it appears you are looking at alternatives, they will threaten you and increase prices.
3. If you stop using them, they will seek to publically humiliate and disparage you.

That sounds more like a bad, big city protection racket than an innovative tech company. Would make me pause if I was thinking of working with them and I would make sure I at least had a window open if they were my supplier. Tesla may not be beloved in the automotive world, but these accusations can't sit well with other manufacturers.

 

[McRat]

That's what I'm seeing also. Mobileye should have just kept quiet or phrased it in a different way (as they did immediately after the Florida incident). They have to be really naive to think Tesla would not respond after they lashed out at Tesla.

It throws a stink bomb in your lobby.

Negative press in an industry paints with a wide brush. Even if you are in the right, it harms the industry you are in, and will affect your profits. Nobody buys from a supplier "because they got screwed". They buy from those with a trouble-free reputation.

And... If you bad talk one customer, other customers wonder how you will treat them.

It's why that kind of advertising is rare. It just doesn't work well. The Pepsi Challenge failed in the long run.

 

[EinSV]

So this is the picture being painted of Mobileye's business dealings by Tesla and Hotz (and by MBLY themselves)

1. MBLY will coerce you to use their technology by working with regulators to lower your ratings if you don't use them.
2. If it appears you are looking at alternatives, they will threaten you and increase prices.
3. If you stop using them, they will seek to publically humiliate and disparage you.

That sounds more like a bad, big city protection racket than an innovative tech company. Would make me pause if I was thinking of working with them and I would make sure I at least had a window open if they were my supplier. Tesla may not be beloved in the automotive world, but these accusations can't sit well with other manufacturers.

And the elephant in the room is that their technology is deficient and cannot prevent accidents like the one in Florida.

Tesla was quite gracious in taking the heat for that IMO, but it is clear now that the fundamental problem is Mobileye's technology is just not up to the task yet.

 

[sillydriver]

Nobody buys from a supplier "because they got screwed". They buy from those with a trouble-free reputation.

And... If you bad talk one customer, other customers wonder how you will treat them.

Can you imagine what a pickle Mobileye would be in if they actually suspended shipping the EyeQ3 to Tesla as they supposedly threatened? No potential customer would ever design in a non-substitutable sole-source product from a vendor who did that.

 

[McRat]

Can you imagine what a pickle Mobileye would be in if they actually suspended shipping the EyeQ3 to Tesla as they supposedly threatened? No potential customer would ever design in a non-substitutable sole-source product from a vendor who did that.

Exactly. I would not even second source them after that poorly handled press.

 

[msnow]

Can you imagine what a pickle Mobileye would be in if they actually suspended shipping the EyeQ3 to Tesla as they supposedly threatened? No potential customer would ever design in a non-substitutable sole-source product from a vendor who did that.

Absolutely true which may be one reason why they threw in the safety angle.

 

[sandpiper]

Can you imagine what a pickle Mobileye would be in if they actually suspended shipping the EyeQ3 to Tesla as they supposedly threatened? No potential customer would ever design in a non-substitutable sole-source product from a vendor who did that.

And they decided to badmouth Tesla after deciding to pull that stunt, knowing full well that Tesla could have let it slip to the industry. Tesla had the decency to keep quiet about the whole situation until Mobileye decided to let rip. Idiots. Whomever is guiding their PR needs to be given their walking papers fast.

 

[Bgarret]

Trip Chowdhry, Tesla cheerleader, doesn't mince words - calls MBLY a $10 stock.

From the article:

Trip Chowdhry of Global Equities Research cautioned investors to "get out" of Mobileye NV (NYSE: MBLY) stock as it "may collapse sooner than 6 to 8 months."

In a report, Chowdhry blasted Mobileye and its business practices that highlight its "stupidity."

Specifically, Mobileye demanded Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) not to use any data collected from its vehicles' cameras for any purpose other than helping Mobileye develop its products.

"Do you think, since your corporate servers are running on INTC Chips, it is okay for INTC to demand all your Data, just because you use INTC Processors," the analyst wrote. "This is the height of Stupidity that MBLY is showing."

Actionable Trading Ideas, Real Time News, Financial Insight | Benzinga

 

[abasile]

Trip Chowdhry of Global Equities Research cautioned investors to "get out" of Mobileye NV (NYSE: MBLY) stock as it "may collapse sooner than 6 to 8 months."

I just got out of MBLY this morning. Wish I had followed my instincts and done so when it was at $49 not long ago. But their latest response to Tesla sealed the deal for me.

 

[Lex]

Main reason why both guys died is because the Mobileye system failed to detect the stationary vehicle.

The reason for both deaths seems clear to me: driver distraction or incapacitation. It's clear that AP / autobraking failed to help to prevent the deaths, though, and that's why we're here.

And the elephant in the room is that their technology is deficient and cannot prevent accidents like the one in Florida.

So there you go, but for me that's just the facts, and the real elephant in the room, now that some grieving time has happened, is that we need to accept that the drivers were completely distracted and driving at high speed without regard for their safety or the safety of others.

Or, they were incapacitated. We may never know.

But please don't blame the super super cruise control system in my Model S. I use it every day to enhance my safety and extend my life (by reducing my stress alone) and simply can't lose the functionality because of people not paying attention when in the driver's seat. That won't be an option until there are cars available without steering wheels and we're still a good 5 to 10 years away from that.

 

[EinSV]

The reason for both deaths seems clear to me: driver distraction or incapacitation. It's clear that AP / autobraking failed to help to prevent the deaths, though, and that's why we're here.


So there you go, but for me that's just the facts, and the real elephant in the room, now that some grieving time has happened, is that we need to accept that the drivers were completely distracted and driving at high speed without regard for their safety or the safety of others.

Or, they were incapacitated. We may never know.

But please don't blame the super super cruise control system in my Model S. I use it every day to enhance my safety and extend my life (by reducing my stress alone) and simply can't lose the functionality because of people not paying attention when in the driver's seat. That won't be an option until there are cars available without steering wheels and we're still a good 5 to 10 years away from that.

Lex, thanks for raising -- let me clarify my statement a bit.

Absolutely the driver is responsible for maintaining control of the vehicle. But if the goal is to reach something like 10 times safer driving with the help of automated systems, the Florida accident put a spotlight on a situation where a system using Mobileye's cameras alone cannot detect and avoid an accident when the driver is unable to avoid it for whatever reason.

To Tesla's credit, it appears to have very quickly developed a fix using radar, which it is in the process of implementing in a very short period of time. I don't believe Mobileye has a solution to this problem and coming up with one may prove challenging given the limitations of its current systems.

 

[Jevi_S85D]

Think about it. Who is really talking ? Mobileye or whom they perceive as big customers. I'm pretty sure that Mobileye and their actions are controlled by the incumbent auto industry. We know they hate and fear Tesla so it is no wonder that Mobileye are trying to discredit Tesla.

 

[Electroman]

Think about it. Who is really talking ? Mobileye or whom they perceive as big customers. I'm pretty sure that Mobileye and their actions are controlled by the incumbent auto industry. We know they hate and fear Tesla so it is no wonder that Mobileye are trying to discredit Tesla.

+1

It is not MobileEye talking. It is the ICE industry hitting back at Tesla.

 

[int32_t]

I just like how the Florida accident keeps coming up. It's Tesla's fault ... it's Mobileye's fault ... obviously, Autopilot's fault ... okay, let's get this one thing straight here: Tesla never said it would stop a speeding vehicle from hitting a truck turning across the highway. They did say it would stay in its lane and navigate highways mostly on its own with an alert, attentive driver (can I emphasize that word enough) in the driver's seat! This isn't an edge case -- this is flat out completely outside the design spec and there is no way you can expect Autopilot to behave like a human driver and see any obstacle, estimate distance / time-to-impact, calculate risk, and determine a course of action.

 

[malcolm]

+1

Aeronautical-autopilot is a mature and surprisingly capable technology.

Automotive-autopilot is (from Tesla) in public Beta and has narrow (although growing) skill set.

Really looking forward to the next version.

 

[thegruf]

I just like how the Florida accident keeps coming up. It's Tesla's fault ... it's Mobileye's fault ... obviously, Autopilot's fault ... okay, let's get this one thing straight here: Tesla never said it would stop a speeding vehicle from hitting a truck turning across the highway. They did say it would stay in its lane and navigate highways mostly on its own with an alert, attentive driver (can I emphasize that word enough) in the driver's seat! This isn't an edge case -- this is flat out completely outside the design spec and there is no way you can expect Autopilot to behave like a human driver and see any obstacle, estimate distance / time-to-impact, calculate risk, and determine a course of action.

I agree with every word of this. This accident sadly was the driver's fault, not Mobileye and not Tesla.

The unfortunate bit though is that it remains a strong probability that this accident would now have occured had the car not had autopiot technology ... for the driver to use incorrectly. And this is why this accident is so contentious.

Ultimately the designers of computerized systems most particualrly system involving safety have to design the systems in such a way that they simply cannot be misused by Joe Public who either through misadventure, complacency or wilful stupidity will inevitably test any implementation to its limits and beyond.

So, ultimately, most us us pay for this potential for misuse with usage restrictions.

Clearly Tesla have been working closely with the NHTSA with the v8 upgrades specifically in this regard, effectively to ensure that the NHTSA is on board with the implementation and ultimately of course cannot them come back at Tesla should there be another unfortunate accident in future. Sensible approach on both sides.

All we have to do is wait for the v8.0 improvements and pray they have found a workable balance that does not ruin the experience, I for one am posistive they have.

The resaon Mobileye don't get much discussion from me is that their historical statements dont match their current ones ergo they lose all credibility. Tesla certainly are capable of putting their spin on matters, but Mobileye just seem to be throwing their toys out of the pram having lost their showcase client. Presumably their other partners will also be looking at Mobileye's umprofessional behaviour and reviewing their options.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Mobileye looks like it's going to be the big loser in this kerfuffle. Lashing out at Tesla is a defensive move and not a particularly intelligent one.

 

[int32_t]

[QUOTE="thegruf, post: 1734230, member: 33960"... All we have to do is wait for the v8.0 improvements and pray they have found a workable balance that does not ruin the experience, I for one am posistive they have.

The resaon Mobileye don't get much discussion from me is that their historical statements dont match their current ones ergo they lose all credibility. Tesla certainly are capable of putting their spin on matters, but Mobileye just seem to be throwing their toys out of the pram having lost their showcase client. Presumably their other partners will also be looking at Mobileye's umprofessional behaviour and reviewing their options.[/QUOTE]
I'm curious if you mean you are confident the update will ruin the experience or that you are sure they have indeed found a workable balance ... unclear from the text.

Yeah, I was looking forward to the upcoming Mobileye tech but now it's not coming in a Tesla. It'll probably show up in some fossil car, and I will be totally disinterested at that point. I'm shopping for electric first, and (semi-) autonomous is a nice-to-have extra eye on the road. I wouldn't get a fossil car just to have the extra eye on the road.

 

[rxlawdude]

Yep, the locus of the AP article was Detroit.

 

[Just a Reader]

And the elephant in the room is that their technology is deficient and cannot prevent accidents like the one in Florida.

Tesla was quite gracious in taking the heat for that IMO, but it is clear now that the fundamental problem is Mobileye's technology is just not up to the task yet.

Indeed? Does that mean that Tesla sold their customers a deficient technology, yet hyped the supposed ability of that technology all the same? After all, people didn't buy a Mobileye, they bought a Tesla and it was Elon Musk who claimed that Autopilot was safer than a human driver.