Elon Musk Announces that Tesla Is ‘Very Close’ to Autonomous Driving Technology

UTC by Tolu Ajiboye · 3 min read
Elon Musk Announces that Tesla Is ‘Very Close’ to Autonomous Driving Technology
Photo: Unsplash

After the earlier release of the autopilot driver-assistance system, Tesla has announced plans to deliver its vehicles with autonomous driving technology. TSLA stock is up.

Electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) is now close to pulling off level 5 autonomous driving technology on its vehicles. Speaking in a video at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the plan is “very close” to realization.

On Tesla’s effort to use a full self-driving level 5 system, the CEO was very confident while delivering his speech. He said:

“I am extremely confident that level or essentially complete autonomy will happen, and I think will happen very quickly. I think at Tesla, I feel like we are very close to level 5 autonomy.”

In addition, he noted:

“I remain confident that we will have the basic functionality for level 5 autonomy this year.”

Tesla to Use Autonomous Driving Technology

Earlier this year. Tesla added an autopilot driver-assistance system, designed to respond to traffic lights and stop signs. The recently-released feature, available to select products, will slow the car to a stop for detected traffic lights.

Musk also talked about a “feature-complete” version of the autonomous driving system, saying that the company still needs to attend to more improvements. The automaker is currently working on an important update to its autopilot driver-assistance systems, which will be released in a few months.

Speaking on the level 5 technology, Musk added:

“I think there are no fundamental challenges remaining for level 5 autonomy. There are many small problems. And then there’s the challenge of solving all those small problems and then putting the whole system together. And then keep addressing the long tail of problems. So, you’ll find that you are able to handle the vast majority of situations.”

Some Wall Street firms, such as Uber Technologies (UBER) are also investing billions in the autonomous driving industry.

Tesla Recent Growth

Recently, Tesla has been performing above expectations as its sales have increased significantly. Last month, TSLA surged after news that the company’s Shanghai factory sold 14,954 Model 3 vehicles. Some of the Model 3 features include; quick acceleration, multiple battery configurations, and also the cheapest Tesla vehicle at the moment with a purchasing price of $37,990. 

With a market capitalization of over $250 billion, Tesla’s stock has surged 13.69% in the last five days and is currently trading at $1,375.00. After closing at $1,365.88 yesterday, TSLA is now up by 0.54%. The automaker is currently enjoying year-to-date gains of 229.51% and a 41.69% rise in 30 days.

Tesla is scheduled to release second-quarter reports on the 22nd of July. Market analysts expect the company to post a profit.

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