Firm ranks leading self-driving companies: Tesla came in last

• Research firm Guidehouse Insights regularly ranks companies developing automated driving tech.
• Tesla didn’t make this year’s top 10, and ranked last of 16 companies assessed.
• That’s despite CEO Elon Musk’s confidence in his Full Self-Driving tech.

Tesla didn’t make this year’s cut of the top 10 autonomous driving companies.

Moreover, of the 16 companies recently ranked by research and consulting firm Guidehouse Insights (which ranks some of the biggest names working on automated-driving technology each year), Tesla came in last. Tesla ranked last in similar lists in 2021 and 2020.  

This year, Guidehouse specifically focused on ranking companies developing this tech for light- to medium-duty vehicles, rather than the automakers that might eventually deploy it in their cars. 

The list comes at a particularly volatile time for the self-driving industry, which has faced a number of headwinds over the past year, including waning investor interest, less available funding, and technological challenges. As such, many companies have struggled. 

Argo AI, the autonomous vehicle business backed by Ford and Volkswagen, shut down. Cruise, GM’s self-driving subsidiary, faced a probe from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Meanwhile, Aurora considered potential acquisitions. Delivery startup Nuro laid off 20% of its workforce. So far this year, Waymo has undergone two rounds of layoffs. 

There has still been momentum and promising developments. Guidehouse Insights pointed to plans from companies Motional, Zoox, and Mobileye to launch driverless operations this year, and Cruise, Baidu, and AutoX operating commercial robotaxi pilots.

To come up with the list, Guidehouse weighs factors such as a company’s vision, go-to-market and production strategies, partners, tech, commercial readiness, and more. Guidehouse sorts the companies it ranks into four categories: leaders, contenders, challengers, and followers. 

The “leaders” include Mobileye, Waymo, Baidu, and Cruise. Tesla was named the only “follower” given its low ratings in automated-driving execution and strategy. The company has long come under fire for its “Full Self-Driving” and Autopilot technologies. 

CEO Elon Musk has promised autonomous vehicles for the better part of a decade. Tesla raised the cost of its Full Self-Driving package to $15,000 despite still requiring driver supervision, and the Society of Automotive Engineers, which established the industry-standard levels of autonomy, only classifies it as a Level 2 — comparable to systems like Ford’s BlueCruise and GM’s Super Cruise.

Here’s the full list, in order:

• Mobileye
• Waymo
• Baidu
• Cruise
• Motional
• Nvidia
• Aurora
• WeRide
• Zoox
• Gatik
• Nuro
• AutoX
• Autonomous A2Z
• May Mobility
• Pony AI
• Tesla