Elon Musk Says Tesla's Software Is Like Apple's, You Can't Just Copy It

Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk, on Monday, drew a parallel between the EV giant’s software and that of tech giant Apple Inc AAPL.

What Happened: One cannot just copy the code of Tesla software, Musk said. The CEO describes this as a perk of having one’s own hardware.

He was responding to a X (formerly Twitter) user, also a Tesla enthusiast, who noted that Chinese EV makers like XPeng, Li Auto, or Nio are possibly learning from Tesla and incorporating the lessons within their own ADAS software. “Doesn't surprise me if they decide to rewrite their software, following in Tesla's footsteps. China companies are extremely good & efficient at implementing what has been proven to work by others,” the user wrote.

Musk responded to the user and affirmed that some Chinese companies are indeed learning from the company. “Some of them are indeed doing so – we're well aware,” Musk wrote.

“Part of the value of having our own hardware is that our software will only run on that specific hardware, warts & all,” the CEO added. “As with Apple, you can't just copy the code or unpack the binaries. You need their hardware too.”

Why It Matters: Musk has previously commended Chinese automakers and predicted them to develop a self-driving solution at par with Tesla.

"They work the hardest and they work the smartest, that’s so for the China car companies that we’re competing against," he had said. "And so we would guess, there is probably some company out of China as the most likely to be second to Tesla."

Photo by Rokas Tenys on Shutterstock

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