- Shares of Mobileye NV MBLY sold off on Wednesday after notable short seller Citron Research named the company its ‘top short' for 2016.
- However, Mobileye's stock gained 4 percent during Wednesday's after-hours trading session as Tesla Motors Inc TSLA said it will continue using Mobileye's driver-assistance technology.
- Rumours surfaced that Tesla was planning on replacing Mobileye's technology with a product developed by notable hacker George Hotz.
Short of the year: 2016 $MBLY https://t.co/vd6Gl5ffP5 2014 it was $DDD, 2015 it was $GPRO. So obvious. Peashooter to a gunfight
— Citron Research (@CitronResearch) December 16, 2015
Hotz is best known for being the first person to hack the iPhone to be available on networks other than AT&T's. Hotz also cracked open the PlayStation 3 before moving on to his next venture – designing a self-driving car in his garage that can compete against Mobileye.
Bloomberg reported that Hotz believes he can "challenge" Mobileye as its products are "behind the times" and "have not caught up." The report also added that Tesla has been "re-marketing" Mobileye's technology by stating that its cars are equipped with autopilot features.
Related Link: Barclays Out In Defense Of Mobileye, Remains As Top Pick
Tesla Responds
Ricardo Reyes, a spokesman for Tesla, spoke to Fortune and noted that Bloomberg's profile on Hotz and his invention does not "correctly represent" Tesla or Mobileye.
Firstly, Tesla disputed claims that its CEO Elon Musk attempted to lure Hotz to work for his company with a multi-million dollar bonus when its relationship with Mobileye ends. Reyes noted that it is nearly impossible for any small company to produce an autonomous driving system that can be deployed to production vehicles.
Second, Reyes told Fortune that Bloomberg may have been incorrect when it wrote that Tesla is "re-marketing" Mobileye's technology. The spokesman pointed out that while Mobileye's technology is an important component of Tesla's autopilot system, it is not the only piece. The autopilot feature also makes use of radar, ultrasonic, GPS navigation and cameras.
"Were this simply a matter of repackaging a single vendor's technology, we would not be unique in offering this groundbreaking experience in production vehicles," Reyes told Fortune.
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