Elon Musk’s Tesla helps legacy automakers avoid past mistakes

Elon Musk’s Tesla is once again signalling a warning to legacy automakers, with the tech billionaire insisting he has “tried to warn” companies and even offered to license Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system to help them avoid past mistakes.

According to Tesla's CEO, several legacy automakers are still reluctant to adopt the technology, despite Tesla leading the US market in advanced autonomous capabilities.

Tesla’s dominance in self-driving innovation mirrors the early days of the EV revolution, when legacy automakers dismissed electric vehicles as niche and unprofitable. 

That hesitation allowed Tesla to gain massive momentum, something Musk now believes could repeat itself in the self-driving era. 

Industry analysts have noted that Tesla’s FSD operates across nearly all road types, backed by real-world fleet data that strengthens the system over time.

Yet, legacy automakers continue to resist licensing the platform, reportedly due to competitive pride, regulatory pressure, and a desire to build their own software.

Musk has argued that the pattern resembles the 2010s, when rivals underestimated Tesla’s EV push and were later forced into rapid catch-up mode.

As Tesla expands FSD through subscriptions and fleet learning, Musk maintains that embracing collaboration could help legacy automakers avoid another costly delay in the next automotive shift.