Elon Musk claims Tesla’s autonomous tech will be released by the end of the year, again

Tesla’s outspoken CEO claims the company’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ autonomous technology will be available before the end of the year – for the third consecutive year.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has claimed the electric-car giant’s fully-autonomous vehicles will be on US roads by the end of this year.

As reported by news agency Reuters, Musk told attendees at an energy conference in Norway that producing ‘self-driving’ autonomous cars is a priority for Tesla, with plans to roll out the vehicles in the US and Europe before 2023.

“The two technologies I am focused on, trying to ideally get done before the end of the year, are getting our (SpaceX) Starship into orbit … and then having Tesla cars to be able to do self-driving” Musk said, according to Reuters.

“(To) Have self-driving (cars) in wide release at least in the US, and potentially in Europe, depending on regulatory approval.”

Tesla’s autonomous ‘Full Self-Driving’ beta system in use

In 2020, Musk said the launch of Tesla’s ‘Level Five’ autonomous systems would take place by the end of the year – a claim he reiterated in 2021.

The Tesla CEO has previously claimed the company’s autonomous driving tech will be “safer than a human” before the end of 2022, saying “being safer than a human is a low standard, not a high standard”.

At present, Tesla offers three ‘Level Two’ semi-autonomous driving systems in its vehicles, requiring drivers to monitor and potentially intervene while the software is operational. 

Autopilot is similar to a number of other semi-autonomous systems offered by car makers, providing adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance.

Enhanced Autopilot adds functions such as automatic navigation, lane change and parking, while also allowing the car to be summoned by its owner.

While the only addition to Full Self-Driving is the ability to detect and stop for traffic signs and lights, it is the most controversial of Tesla’s semi-autonomous systems.

YouTube has been forced to remove a number of videos which showed Tesla owners testing the pedestrian avoidance capabilities of ‘Full Self-Driving’ on children.

Released in September 2021, Full Self-Driving – also known as ‘FSD’ – is a ‘beta’ service which is tested in real-time by the electric car giant’s customers on public roads, with Tesla gathering the data to improve the system.

As reported by Drive earlier this month, veteran US road safety campaigner Ralph Nader, called Tesla’s decision to release the system as a beta test, “one of the most dangerous and irresponsible actions by a car company in decades”.

Video sharing platform YouTube was forced to pull down a number of Tesla videos last week, as adults used children as real-life dummies to test Full Self-Driving’s pedestrian avoidance capabilities.

In Australia, Full Self-Driving does not totally comply with local road rules, although Enhanced Autopilot is legal and is available to Tesla owners for $5100.

While Full Self-Driving can’t be used in Australia, Tesla customers can order the system for $10,100, unlocking its capabilities when it becomes available.

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