Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. News

Tesla’s top rival launches self-driving with full crash coverage at a fraction of the cost

BYD's God's Eye tech is coming for Tesla with a much smaller bill

Add as a preferred source on Google
BYD 2026 Seagull.
CnEVPost / BYD

BYD just delivered another blow to Tesla. The company’s new self-driving package just dropped with a price tag that basically embarrasses Tesla’s driver-assistance service. The Chinese EV giant announced a new service package dubbed God’s Eye, with chairman Wang Chuanfu claiming BYD’s first goal is to achieve “zero traffic accidents.”

In a recent press conference, he announced that BYD will fully cover compensation and repairs for accidents that happen while drivers are using its City Navigation function, without affecting the user’s insurance premiums the following year.

BYD is confident in its self-driving tech

BYD’s new coverage applies to its God’s Eye A/B systems. So new owners get coverage right from delivery, while existing owners will gain access after updating to the new God’s Eye 5.0 over the air. The policy seems to cover at-fault accidents, including repairs to the owner’s vehicle, third-party property damage, and personal injury, as long as the system is used according to regulations.

Recommended Videos

There is also no extra “intelligent driving insurance” purchase, no payout cap, and no hit to next-year commercial insurance premiums. BYD is confident in the tech, showcasing its bold trust with this commitment. Assisted driving still requires drivers to pay attention, and BYD is not magically removing responsibility from the human behind the wheel.

Pricing is where things get real spicy

The real headline here is the cost. BYD is letting users upgrade to God’s Eye B for 12,000 Yuan, which is about $1,770. In China, Tesla’s comparable assisted-driving package has been rebranded as Tesla Assisted Driving and is priced at 64,000 Yuan, or about $9,400, with no subscription option. This basically makes BYD’s upgrade roughly one-fifth of Tesla’s China-market price.

For context, Tesla’s US pricing has changed a lot too. The company currently lists FSD (Supervised) at $99 per month, requiring drivers to stay attentive. And now, Tesla has moved FSD to a subscription-only model for new buyers. Before that, US buyers could purchase FSD outright for $8,000, after Tesla cut the price down from $12,000 in 2024.

So no matter how you dress it, BYD is undercutting Tesla by a huge margin. It is making smart driving cheaper and more accessible. The added commitment just goes to show how it’s willing to build trust as well.

Vikhyaat Vivek
Vikhyaat Vivek is a tech journalist and reviewer with seven years of experience covering consumer hardware, with a focus on…
This sleek Chinese EV pairs supercar styling with three AI brains
The Xpeng L03 is an AI supercomputer disguised as a stylish family SUV
Xpeng L03

Xpeng’s latest electric vehicle carries enough processing power to make the term "smart car" actually sound more realistic than it actually is. The new Xpeng L03 debuted simultaneously in Europe and China on July 16, with the company presenting it across 65 markets. Available as a fully electric vehicle and an L03 Power X range-extender, the coupe-SUV is Xpeng’s most internationally focused model so far. Market-specific prices and sales dates remain unannounced.

Three AI chips and Google Maps built right in

Read more
A new sodium battery posts wild four-minute charging numbers, but don’t expect it in an EV yet
The breakthrough could improve fast charging and battery life, but the study hasn’t demonstrated those results in a production-sized pack
EV Charger

A new sodium-metal battery has posted a charging number that makes today’s EVs look painfully slow. In laboratory testing, the cell operated at a 15C rate, equivalent to completing a charge or discharge in roughly four minutes.

That doesn’t mean researchers plugged in an electric car and watched it fill up before the driver finished buying coffee. The result came from a small experimental cell using a new quasi-solid electrolyte, while the larger pouch-cell prototype delivered far less dramatic performance.

Read more
The Apple Car may be dead, but it became the foundation of Apple Intelligence
A decade of work on a canceled car project reportedly laid the groundwork for Apple Intelligence.
Apple Intelligence in Apple Car

The Apple Car may have never left the garage, but it apparently gave birth to Apple's AI ambitions. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple's canceled autonomous vehicle project, one that consumed more than a decade of work and over $10 billion before being scrapped in 2024, ended up laying the technological foundation for Apple Intelligence. In a rather ironic twist, one of Apple's most expensive failures may also become one of its most important long-term investments.

The Apple Car forced Apple to think like an AI company

Read more