Tesla CEO Elon Musk issued a dire threat to legacy automakers this week, saying that firms like Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis are not interested in licensing Tesla Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology– despite the competitive threat they present to Tesla.
Musk has complained in a post on X that legacy auto manufacturers were offering resistance and unrealistic negotiation terms. “I’ve tried to warn them and even offered to license Tesla FSD, but they don’t want it! Crazy,” Musk wrote. When legacy auto does make the rare call, they half-heartedly negotiate on FSD implementation of a small program in 5 years with unrealistic Tesla requirements, so it’s not worthwhile.
Musk responded to an earlier study conducted by Melius Research in which analyst Rob Wertheimer claimed that the actual threat in the autonomy market is not with Tesla but with all other companies.
It is not that we believe Tesla is in danger; we are saying that everybody is. Wertheimer wrote and indicated that the position held by Tesla in advanced driver-assist and autonomous systems would be turned into hundreds of billions of dollars in future value.
The Licensing Debate
For years, Musk has indicated that he would share the self-driving software at Tesla with other companies, which is surprising given the aggressive nature of Tesla in keeping up with technological dominance. Musk, however, makes it clear now that other car manufacturers are not actually taking the opportunity seriously. Rather, he says, they are going too slow into discussions and with conditions that render any cooperation impossible.
I’ve tried to warn them and even offered to license Tesla FSD, but they don’t want it! Crazy …
When legacy auto does occasionally reach out, they tepidly discuss implementing FSD for a tiny program in 5 years with unworkable requirements for Tesla, so pointless. 🤷♂️
🦕 🦕
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2025
The unwillingness can be due to a strategy, financial, or regulatory issue, yet Musk believes that old-established organizations simply do not understand the urgency. “It is like EVs all over again”, Musk hinted at in subsequent conversations. “They’re waiting too long.”
A Missed Opportunity?
It is not the first occasion that Tesla was negotiating to license FSD. Musk said several years ago that he had been talking to at least one large automaker. No company was named by Tesla as the possible acquirer, but most observers thought it was Ford because Musk had discussed the acquisition with the then-Ford CEO Jim Farley publicly.
Ford has been among the most prolific conventional producers in the electric vehicle shift. When Farley assumed the role, the company unveiled the Mustang Mach-E and the F-150 Lightning, and it indicated ambitious electrification plans.
However, financial stress and the changing market conditions compelled Ford to reduce its EV plans in the recent past. Decreased demand and low volumes of production, and continuous losses on EV models have resulted in the company struggling to achieve profitability goals.
An Industry at a Crossroads
As Tesla, BYD, XPeng, and some new entrants keep expanding aggressively in the electric and autonomous technologies, older companies are often constrained by impractical costs, corporate inertia, and strategic priorities. Most of them only began their EV programs later than Tesla, and some, in particular, in the U.S., continue to heavily depend on combustion-engine trucks and SUVs as a profit-generating engine.
In the case of Musk, the state of affairs is quite obvious, as independence will become a compelling technology in the industry, and businesses that overlook or hesitate to implement it may encounter the same problems as they have encountered before because of the underestimation of EVs. The same perspective is supported by the analysis by Wertheime, who predicts that the autonomy race can radically change the industry valuations over the next few years.
