Article continues below this ad Tesla’s camera-based approach, in theory, allows Tesla to scale its autonomous fleet more quickly and cost-effectively while maintaining a sleek design. In comparison, Waymo vehicles, which can be spotted across Austin today, are equipped with prominent sensors on their tops and sides, which are constantly active and give the cars a bulkier appearance. “The issue with Waymo’s car is it costs way more money,” Musk said earlier this year. “Their car is very expensive, made in low volume. Teslas probably cost 25% or 20% of what a Waymo costs and are made in very high volume.” Ken Johnston, an artificial intelligence and data expert at Seattle-based technology consultant Envorso, has been tracking self-driving vehicles for several years. If Tesla can prove its tech is as safe as other companies’, he said, it will take over the autonomous vehicle space. “It comes down to safety,” the former Ford Motor Co. executive said. “It’s safety more than anything. If they have major incidents, then it’s going to set not just them, but it’ll set everybody in the auto taxi space behind. If Tesla is actually successful at a reasonable scale in Austin, with that brand and the install base they have, it changes the conversation almost instantly. You now enter the question of scale, and that’s where niche players like Waymo and some of the others struggle because they can’t get to scale in time.” Advertisement