First Joe Biden, Now Bill Gates: Tech Pioneer Overlooks Elon Musk's Full Self-Driving, Praises Startup

The development of full self-driving technology may be at a point of contention between Elon Musk and Bill Gates.

Gates Highlights Autonomy Startup: Tesla Inc TSLA, led by Musk, has been a leader in the autonomy field. While Gates on Wednesday expressed excitement for the day when he can enjoy a vehicle that has full self-driving capabilities, while promoting a company in his blog that isn’t Tesla.

Gates wrote about a London-based startup named Wayve, and praised the company for its promising self-driving tech.

Wayve uses deep learning techniques to train its algorithms to interpret surroundings and respond in real time. The algorithm learns by example, applying lessons acquired from real-world driving and simulations. This approach potentially allows Wayve's autonomous vehicles to drive anywhere a human can drive.

While Wayve is still in the development stage, its unique approach that caught the attention of Gates overlooks what Musk has already done.

Tesla has already introduced and is fine-tuning its FSD capabilities, allowing drivers to take their hands off the wheel and let the car drive in certain circumstances. One person drove 6,392 miles primarily using Tesla’s FSD while other automakers are still perfecting the tech.

Read also: Elon Musk Says He Personally Tests Out Tesla FSD Beta Before Every Release

Will Gates-Musk Feud Rekindle? Gates’ recent promotion of Wayve highlights the competition among tech startups to perfect FSD technology, and could reignite the Gates/Musk feud that started in 2020.

Musk previously accused Gates of not taking climate change seriously after Gates approached Musk to talk “philanthropy possibilities” while holding a $500-million short position on Tesla's stock.

Musk told the Microsoft founder that he couldn’t take his offer seriously, as Gates was short the company that Musk said is “doing the most to solve climate change.”

If Gates wasn’t enough, Musk accused President Joe Biden's administration in 2022 of ignoring Tesla's leadership in the electric vehicle industry, which led to more than 33,000 people signing a petition asking Biden to acknowledge Tesla’s leadership.

“Biden has pointedly ignored Tesla at every turn and falsely stated to the public that GM [General Motors Company GM] leads the electric car industry” Musk said in an email to CNBC.

The Last Word: The focus now is on the future of FSD technology and the company that will perfect it first. With Wayve, Gates appears to be promoting a serious contender in the race for FSD supremacy.

Read next: Elon Musk Gives Bill Gates An 'F' In Understanding Of AI

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