If the advent of Robotaxi is already an inevitable trend, the next question is how and who will make it happen.

China and the United States' top autonomous driving companies play crucial roles in this global technological transformation, with Waymo from Google in the US and Luoborun in China as prominent examples. Now, a new player has entered the fray - Tesla.

On October 11, Tesla officially unveiled its highly anticipated self-driving taxi, the Cybercab, at the "We, Robot" event in Los Angeles, USA. The Cybercab has no steering wheel or pedals, can sense and charge itself, and is expected to cost less than $30,000. It is scheduled to hit the roads in 2026.

A fierce competition surrounding autonomous driving technology, market share, and the right to speak has officially begun.

1. A new 'wolf' has arrived, forming a three-way standoff

The top-level competition for advanced technology often determines the right to speak in multiple fields for the next ten to twenty years. In recent years, Chinese and American tech giants have been engaged in a constant game of catch-up, with domestic companies rising from setbacks through reflection and perseverance.

Autonomous driving has been one of the few top arenas for Chinese and American tech giants in recent years, and now the competition in the Robotaxi sector has reached its peak.

Elon Musk arrived at the event in Tesla's newly launched self-driving taxi, the 'Cybercab.' This scene reminds us of the historic moment in 2017 when Baidu's Robin Li rode in an autonomous vehicle onto the Wuhuan Road, officially ushering in the era of autonomous driving in China. Not only that moment but many details announced at the Tesla event had already been achieved by Luoborun. As foreign netizens commented, Musk wants to keep the cost of the Cybercab below $200,000, but Luoborun achieved that in 2022.

Tesla's entry into the autonomous driving field now is different from Baidu's initial foray years ago. The market is now relatively mature, with Baidu driving the development of autonomous driving since 2017, and domestic players have basically formed a closed loop of technology and market. In contrast, Tesla's Robotaxi business is just starting, and the widespread attention it has garnered in the global autonomous driving sector stems largely from its prominent position in the electric vehicle industry, undoubtedly adding weight to Tesla's entry.

Tesla's timing in entering the field may be aimed at seizing the market's "fruits," especially as its FSD (Full Self-Driving) system is expected to receive approval for use in China by 2025. The global autonomous driving industry is gradually moving from technology to marketization and maturing.

As Tesla launches its autonomous driving business, Baidu's autonomous driving business has also delivered significant news.

On October 9, it was reported that Luoborun is actively pursuing a global layout, having established in-depth cooperation with multiple international companies and planning to enter overseas markets. By partnering with leading global automakers and technology companies, Baidu aims to establish China's autonomous driving as a benchmark in the international market, showcasing China's innovative strength and international competitiveness in this field.

Of course, as another giant in the autonomous driving field, Google is not absent.

Waymo, supported by Google, has promoted its self-driving taxi service in multiple US cities and continues to expand rapidly. On October 2, Waymo announced the upcoming launch of its self-driving taxi service in Austin, Texas, initially offering it to select users through the Waymo One app, with plans to transfer it to the Uber platform in early 2025.

In a short period, the three major autonomous driving giants - Tesla, Baidu, and Google - have announced significant progress, and the autonomous driving industry seems poised for a new round of transformation. Under the new competitive landscape, Tesla, Baidu, and Google have gradually established themselves as the "Big Three" in the global autonomous driving field.

In this market, Tesla and Google, as "foreign wolves," are seizing market share through innovation and aggressive attack , while Baidu is playing the role of the "wolf going out," actively laying out its global strategy.

Competition in the global autonomous driving field is intensifying, gradually entering the final stage.

Returning to the domestic market, domestic autonomous driving companies also need to demonstrate a stronger "wolf spirit." While Baidu is actively expanding internationally, it also requires a more open domestic market for support.

Chen Yanyan, a professor at the School of Urban Transportation at Beijing University of Technology, offers insightful comments on autonomous driving in China and the US.

Her pertinent observation is that "China and the United States have always been the two most influential forces at the global autonomous driving table. Over the past decade or so, China's autonomous driving has been striving to catch up with the US, and now the two countries are neck and neck technologically."

Her incisive comment is that "if China wants to seize the initiative in future AI competition, especially in autonomous driving, it requires concerted efforts from both the government and enterprises. This includes taking bigger steps in autonomous driving legislation and providing a positive, open, and inclusive policy environment for the industry, leveraging China's rich scenario advantages to accelerate implementation."

2. The starting gun has sounded, and autonomous driving enters the finals

Autonomous driving has been one of the few top-tier showdowns between China and the US in recent years in the field of technology, and it is also a competition for systems and ecosystems.

In terms of competing for the "right to speak," this race involves more than just technological leadership; it is a comprehensive industrial competition. As pointed out by Wang Xianjin, member of the National Committee of the CPPCC and Chief Engineer of the China Academy of Transportation Sciences, autonomous driving is at the forefront of international technological competition and a crucial link in establishing international competitiveness in the digital industry.

In the future, whoever takes the lead in this blue ocean will gain a higher voice in the industrial chain.

The competition between Chinese and American autonomous driving companies involves not only the mobility services market but also multiple fields such as telecommunications, semiconductors, and the automotive industry.

To understand the significance of the competition for the right to speak in autonomous driving, we can look back at the rivalry between Microsoft and Kingsoft years ago.

When Kingsoft Office and Microsoft competed in the domestic market, Microsoft's Windows system dominated due to its system convenience advantages, leading to Microsoft's dominance in the office field for many years thereafter.

Without the right to speak in the top-tier ecosystem, there will be no future right to speak in the autonomous driving ecosystem.

Today, autonomous driving is no longer a novelty and has begun to enter the lives of ordinary people in many cities. However, there is still insufficient understanding of the future strategic position of autonomous driving. We must remember that the "outside wolves" have arrived, and if domestic companies do not go global and secure a place in the global market competition, the domestic market will also lose its "right to speak."

Autonomous driving is about much more than just driving itself.

Currently, Google, Tesla, and Baidu, as the world's three major autonomous driving companies, follow distinct paths.

Tesla's approach, evident in its FSD (Full Self-Driving) system and autonomous driving services, is a "pure vision + FSD" technology route that relies heavily on software algorithms and neural networks to achieve end-to-end driving control.

Tesla's core lies in leveraging its vast pool of car owners to continuously accumulate driving data, which it uses to train its autonomous driving system. Tesla's FSD system has accumulated over 1.6 billion miles of driving data globally, driving rapid iterations in autonomous driving technology.

Google's Waymo has always focused on deep integration of its hardware systems. Its self-driving cars are equipped with lidar, high-definition cameras, and various sensors, aiming to achieve a safe self-driving experience through high-precision maps and real-time computations. Waymo has successfully commercialized its self-driving services in multiple US cities, such as San Francisco.

In China, Baidu has adopted a dual path of "single-vehicle intelligence + vehicle-road collaboration." Its technology roadmap emphasizes the coordinated operation of vehicles and road infrastructure, making self-driving vehicles more flexible and efficient in complex urban traffic conditions. The Apollo platform integrates high-precision maps, sensors, and Baidu's latest large model technology, enabling autonomous driving that is over ten times safer than human drivers in complex urban scenarios.

From the autonomous driving routes of these three companies, we can see that autonomous driving encompasses core industries such as big data, artificial intelligence, large models, communications, chips, automobile manufacturing, and lidar. In essence, autonomous driving is crucial to the future development pattern of high-tech and manufacturing.

3. The potential trillion-dollar market is accelerating, and Robotaxi is pushing the limits

Robotaxi is pushing the limits of the commercial space for autonomous driving.

Roland Berger has identified five core elements for the commercialization of Robotaxi: government regulation, technology, cost, operation and service, and market acceptance. The three factors most directly related to marketization - technology, cost, and operation and service - are already driving market transformation.

Taking Luoborun's market operations as an example, leveraging China's vast automotive market and rapid urbanization, Luoborun has conducted extensive testing and applications in multiple cities, accumulating over 7 million orders, with its self-driving vehicles covering more than ten cities nationwide.

Technologically, Baidu's Apollo platform, based on the latest large model technology, enables adaptive driving in complex scenarios.

As Luoborun announced its intention to expand overseas, sources reported on October 9 that Baidu was about to release Apollo Autonomous Driving Open Platform 10.0, equipped with Baidu's latest autonomous driving large model, ADFM (Autonomous Driving Foundation Model), which is considered over ten times safer than human drivers in terms of safety.

Additionally, Luoborun's vehicles are equipped with vehicle-road collaboration and high-precision map systems, making them more capable of handling complex road conditions.

Of course, the cost reduction of autonomous vehicles is a crucial prerequisite for the expansion of the industry's scale and the establishment of a viable business model.

Currently, as the Robotaxi market matures, the manufacturing cost per vehicle is gradually decreasing. In May of this year, the cost-reducing effect on the hardware side of the market will be very apparent. Taking Luoborun as an example, the sixth-generation self-driving car, the Yichi 06, sells for only 204,600 yuan, a 60% reduction in cost compared to the fifth-generation self-driving car.

In terms of service, Luoborun has also paved a new path for the large-scale implementation of the market. Luoborun has built an autonomous vehicle service network that automates the entire life cycle of self-driving vehicles, including one-click cloud-based commands to automatically wake up vehicles, self-inspections, automatic dispatch, automatic service area scheduling, and automatic parking, all without human intervention.

The achievements of Chinese companies in the field of autonomous driving are due in part to the infrastructure construction in the Chinese market over the past few years.

China's mature autonomous driving infrastructure and relatively complete policies, coupled with its leadership in vehicle-road collaboration and V2X communication, have enabled faster large-scale implementation of autonomous driving technology in the country.

According to Tianyancha information search, there are over 13,000 autonomous driving-related companies in China, with more than 4,000 having registered capital exceeding 50 million yuan.

Compared to the autonomous driving technology in the US, China's approach focuses more on the overall intelligence of the system, reducing the development difficulty of single-vehicle intelligence through vehicle-road collaboration and enhancing overall safety.

However, Chinese companies must also be aware of their shortcomings. Compared to the US's leading advantages in chips, hardware devices, and algorithms, Chinese companies still need to continue their efforts in these areas.

The US has developed integrated circuit technology and has maintained a leading position in high-end chip design, laying a solid foundation for the development of high-performance automotive chips. Whether it's the "Waymo faction" of single-vehicle intelligence or the "Tesla faction," the core capabilities behind them are artificial intelligence algorithms and decision-making chips, which are the US's strengths.

In the past few years, Chinese companies have made tremendous efforts in the "high-stakes" competition of autonomous driving. However, as the competition enters the finals, facing the challenges of the international market, Chinese companies need to demonstrate fearlessness and determination. This is a battle that cannot be lost and is crucial to shaping the future competitive landscape of technology.