BYD Takes Responsibility for Autopilot Accidents — A Challenge to Tesla. For the first time worldwide, BYD has announced that if their autopilot causes an accident, the company will cover all damages. This move intensifies competition with Tesla and changes the rules of the game in the autonomous vehicle market.
BYD has done what no other major automaker has dared: the company has officially declared it will take full financial responsibility for accidents caused by failures in its autonomous driving systems. This decision immediately sets the Chinese brand apart from its competitors and directly challenges Tesla, which has yet to offer similar guarantees.
Tesla's Full Self Driving (FSD) system has been considered one of the most advanced on the market for over a decade, but Elon Musk's company has repeatedly faced criticism and lawsuits due to ambiguous marketing of the autopilot's capabilities and accidents connected to them. Unlike Tesla, BYD not only develops its own technologies but is also prepared to back them financially—in yuan, rather than just words.
Unconditional guarantee
According to the new program, if a BYD car with active urban driving assistance or intelligent parking systems is involved in an accident caused by these technologies, the company will cover all expenses—from repairs to compensation for victims. The insurance is valid for one year, does not require a separate policy from the owner, and does not provide for premium increases in the future. There is no payout limit, but compliance with traffic rules and confirmation that the system was indeed active at the time of the accident are mandatory.
The God’s Eye package, responsible for semi-automatic control, is already installed on more than 2.5 million BYD cars worldwide. In China, it can be purchased for an amount equivalent to just over 1,500 euros, while a similar Tesla option costs around 8,100 euros. This price gap makes BYD's offer especially attractive to the mass market.
Competition and the Market
The autonomous vehicle market is developing rapidly: thousands of robotaxis are already operating in China, and Tesla is actively testing its own driverless services, collecting data to improve its FSD. However, as russpain.com notes, not all manufacturers are ready to take risks and assume responsibility for autopilot performance. For example, Polestar, despite completing the development of its new electric convertible, has postponed its launch due to strategic and market uncertainties — more details can be found in the article on the delayed release of the Polestar 6.
BYD’s decision could become a turning point for the entire industry: if the technology truly proves reliable, other manufacturers will be forced to reconsider their approaches to responsibility and service. For buyers, this means not only new safety standards but also real protection from the risks associated with introducing autopilot into everyday life.
