Tesla has avoided marketing its autopilot feature as a self-driving car feature, but it seems that could change in the near future. Speaking on a podcast with Cathie Wood and Tasha Keeney of ARK Invest, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk mentioned that his company’s cars are expected to get all the self-driving features by the end of the year.Musk was quoted as saying, “I think we will be feature complete — full self-driving — this year. Meaning the car will be able to find you in a parking lot, pick you up and take you all the way to your destination without an intervention, this year. I would say I am of certain of that. That is not a question mark.”
However he cautioned that this does not mean that it is safe to drive while you’re asleep. Instead Musk suggests that that level of autonomy might arrive in 2020. “My guess as to when we would think it is safe for somebody to essentially fall asleep and wake up at their destination? Probably towards the end of next year. That is when I think it would be safe enough for that.”
As it stands self-driving cars have yet to be commercialized, with Tesla’s autopilot mode probably being the closest we can get for now. Many companies, not just car makers, are also working on the technology, although we imagine that it will probably be a while before we will be able to buy one ourselves.
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