As Tesla Full Self Driving (FSD) has gotten better and users have claimed they never have to intervene, I’ve thought, that’s great if you like that, but it doesn’t really mean anything for the market until Tesla is willing to take on liability in the event of a crash. That’s when you can read a book, watch a movie, take a nap, or do some work while the car drives itself. Well … BYD is apparently there now! To some extent. The Chinese electric vehicle giant has reportedly said that it will cover the costs of any accidents that occur while its autonomous driving software is active! Yes, while using “God’s Eye,” BYD is taking on full liability. This is indeed the first company to do such a thing. This is going to be the policy for any new car buyers. For people who already have a BYD, they will get this coverage once they update to God’s Eye version 5.0. For now, coverage is being provided for one year, and it is covering urban pilot assist and intelligent parking functions. BYD announced the news at the Intelligent Strategy Event on May 28. Of course, this is only being offered in China initially. “The terms of the guarantee are notably generous: provided the system is used in compliance with regulations, BYD will cover all costs associated with at-fault traffic accidents, including repairs to the owner’s vehicle as well as third-party property damage and personal injury. Crucially, this service requires no additional purchase of ‘intelligent driving insurance,’ features no payout cap, and will not impact the owner’s commercial insurance premiums for the following year,” Car News China writes. Can you imagine? You can buy God’s Eye B for just 12,000 yuan ($1,800). They do compare what BYD is offering to what the meme giant, Tesla, is offering. And the comparison doesn’t look great for the American brand. Aside from the fact that Tesla doesn’t take on liability in the event of a crash, it also charges much more. “By way of comparison, Tesla Assisted Driving (named Supervised FSD in international markets) is priced at 64,000 yuan (9,400 USD) as a one-off purchase in the Chinese market, with no subscription option available. Huawei’s ADS Max features ‘City Navigation’ and is available via a one-off purchase price of 36,000 yuan (5,300 USD) or subscription (720 yuan/ 106 USD per month, 7,200 yuan/1,059 USD per year).” They also note that Tesla recently renamed its Full Self-Driving (FSD) package in China to “Tesla Assisted Driving.” Other recent reporting highlights that Tesla quietly made this change as Tesla FSD buyers were suing the company in China (as they are in the US, Australia, and elsewhere). “A Beijing court held its first hearing last week in a lawsuit brought by 10 Tesla owners who say the company sold them a lie. The plaintiffs are seeking more than $583,000 in damages, arguing Tesla’s FSD system does not deliver the capabilities implied by the company’s marketing,” Motor Trend writes. “What makes the timing especially awkward is that just a week before the hearing, Tesla quietly renamed its Full-Self Driving system ‘Tesla Assisted Driving’ in the Chinese market, a smoking gun if there ever was one.” That does sound suspicious. “The plaintiffs each paid around $7,800 for Tesla’s FSD package between 2019 and 2021. They allege that Tesla sales staff and CEO Elon Musk assured them ‘full self-driving’ capability was imminent and that the price would increase, motivating them to buy. When Tesla finally began rolling out its driving software in China, it only worked on vehicles with HW4.0 hardware. Owners with the older HW3.0 systems, which cover every car produced between 2019 and 2023, were excluded entirely.” Hmm, yes, that does sound familiar, because I’m in exactly that same boat. Anyway, back to the BYD news, does taking on liability make a difference? It does. Car News China adds that when BYD took on full liability for L4 parking last year, usage jumped up from 21% to 93%. So, yes, people will respond and will use autonomous driving technology more when the company is willing to take on the liability.