BYD to offer Tesla-like self-driving tech in all models for free

Data, control, and “free” self‑driving

• Several comments stress “if the product is free, you are the product”: free ADAS/FSD implies large-scale data collection and remote control capabilities.
• Concern extends beyond BYD to Tesla and others: selling the car doesn’t preclude also monetizing the driver and their data.
• Some praise BYD for not putting basic safety features (lane keeping, parking assist, highway assist) behind a paywall, unlike Tesla’s expensive FSD option.

Capabilities and safety of BYD’s “God’s Eye”

• Thread clarifies that the base system is closer to lane assist and highway pilot (hands-on, limited autonomy) than full destination-to-destination self-driving.
• Higher tiers add supervised urban autonomy and more advanced features.
• Mixed impressions: some see BYD’s ADAS as impressive for the price; others report poor lane assist and even a demo crash into a parked car, reinforcing skepticism about all self-driving.

Surveillance, national security, and sabotage fears

• Some argue internet-connected EVs are a perfect weaponizable platform: remote bricking, fires, or using cars as guided weapons.
• Others call this paranoia: communications can be isolated, backdoors could be found by hackers, and a foreign state has stronger incentives to keep a lucrative export market than to cripple it.
• There’s debate over how much telecom infrastructure itself is compromised (by both US and Chinese actors).

Trade, tariffs, and subsidies

• Large subthread on whether US consumers are being harmed by tariffs that keep cheap Chinese EVs out, versus whether tariffs are essential against heavily subsidized Chinese production.
• Many see Chinese EV dominance as the result of low wages, huge state subsidies, and a dense supplier/manufacturing ecosystem; similar subsidies exist in US/EU but on a smaller or different scale.
• Others argue that protection of domestic auto jobs and industrial capacity is legitimate, and that “free market” rhetoric ignores asymmetries and state-driven strategies.
• Dispute over whether US EV demand is “small” or just constrained by high prices and infrastructure.

BYD pricing, quality, and global rollout

• The headline ~$14k price applies mainly inside China; in Mexico, Europe, Brazil, etc., BYD models are more typically in the ~$20–30k range once taxes and local costs are included.
• Even at those prices, several commenters are impressed by perceived quality, interior finish, and driving dynamics compared to similarly priced Western EVs.
• BYD is growing strongly in markets like Mexico and Europe; many expect Chinese EVs to dominate globally where tariffs are lower or where they can build local factories.

Tesla’s position and Musk’s politics

• Multiple comments note Tesla’s stock plunge, slowing sales, and intensifying competition from BYD and other Chinese makers.
• There’s significant discussion of Musk alienating traditional Tesla buyers through politics, leading some owners to sell to avoid association.
• Tesla FSD is criticized as extremely expensive, unreliable, and regionally limited; some argue the high price partly reflects bundling future hardware upgrades because the software still doesn’t consistently “work.”

Religion, branding, and “God’s Eye”

• Several clarify that the Chinese name (天神之眼) draws on local religious/mystical concepts of “heavenly” or “divine” beings, not Western monotheistic “God.”
• Religion in China is described as officially discouraged for party members but widely practiced in society; the name is seen mostly as marketing, not ideology.