Elon Musk says self-driving Teslas will arrive this year
Published on Jul 07, 2023 at 1:25 PM (UTC+4)
by Adam Gray
Last updated on Jul 10, 2023 at 3:08 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
According to Elon Musk, we’ll see self-driving Teslas this year.
The billionaire CEO said Tesla is “very close to achieving full self-driving without human supervision”.
He made the bold claim when recently speaking via video link at an artificial intelligence (AI) conference in Shanghai.
READ MORE! Elon Musk’s solution for Tesla drivers in right-hand-drive countries is bizarre
Tesla should realize fully autonomous vehicles at some point “later this year,” he predicted.
But Musk stressed “this is only speculation”.
So, should we take what he says with a pinch of salt?
Absolutely, yes.
Let’s face it, Musk has a history of overly optimistic forecasts on the arrival of fully driverless vehicles.
However, he did say it feels like “we’re closer to it than we ever have been”.
At the same time, Musk praised China as a major player in AI and said he is confident the country will become a global leader in the field.
He used his speech as an opportunity to call on the government, which backed the conference, to implement more regulatory oversight for the transformative technology.
The truth is, Musk has been on the charm offensive as he’s keen to cultivate a good relationship with China.
In the past, he’s vocally opposed the deepening divide between Beijing and Washington.
It’s not hard to see why Musk wants a good relationship with the world’s second largest economy.
After all, China is Tesla’s second largest market after North America and is expected to become a major market for autonomous driving.
Add to that the fact the country also plays a key role in Tesla’s production capacity.
China is also a competitor for his other ventures like SpaceX’s satellite communications system Starlink.
At the end of the day, a number of technical breakthroughs are still needed to realise fully driverlsss cars.
The tech also raises a host of legal and regulatory issues that have yet to be addressed.
So, let’s just see what happens.
DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
Adam Gray is an experienced freelance motoring journalist and content creator based in the United Kingdom. Using his media accreditation with manufacturers’ press offices, Adam test drives the latest cars and attends new vehicle press launches, producing written reviews and news pieces for a variety of lifestyle and business publications. Here at Supercar Blondie, Adam applies his journalistic skills penning social-first content around current news and trends. When he’s not behind the wheel of the latest car or writing up another viral story, Adam can be found at his local rink playing ice hockey or at the Riverside Stadium supporting his beloved Middlesbrough FC.
