news

Elon Musk ‘extremely confident’ Tesla will launch full-autonomous driving in 2021

It's not the first time the Tesla CEO has made bold claims about the company's level five autonomy capabilities.


Tesla CEO Elon Musk has once again stipulated an ambitious timeline for the launch of the electric car maker's full autonomous driving functionality, telling customers they should expect to see it in 2021.

While Tesla vehicles currently feature the hardware necessary for future 'Full Self-Driving' capabilities, they are only capable of 'Autopilot', Tesla's advanced driver assistance system which can steer, accelerate and brake automatically with driver supervision.

But while accepting the Axel Springer Award for innovation in Germany, the billionaire founder said he was "extremely confident" full autonomy will land in selected markets next year.

"I am extremely confident of achieving full autonomy and releasing it to the Tesla customer base next year," Musk said.

Musk also addressed the fact many countries currently have regulations that don't permit the technology, adding: "But I think at least some jurisdictions are going to allow full self-driving next year".

Musk has revised his estimates for the launch of 'Level Five' autonomy – otherwise known as full, driverless automation – multiple times in the past.

Earlier in 2020, he said Tesla was "very close to Level Five autonomy", even suggesting it could be ready before the end of the year.

"I remain confident that we will have the basic functionality for Level Five autonomy complete this year," Musk said at the time.

Back in 2015, Musk also claimed the technology could arrive as early as 2018.

In late 2020, Tesla began rolling out what it calls its 'Full Self-Driving Beta system' to select Tesla owners (via an opt-in system) – but despite the name, it still doesn't constitute Level Five autonomy.

While the Beta system monitors and responds to its environment independently, it still requires driver prompts and oversight.


MORE:Tesla Showroom
MORE:Tesla News
MORE:Tesla Reviews
MORE:Search Used Tesla Cars for Sale
MORE:Tesla Showroom
MORE:Tesla News
MORE:Tesla Reviews
MORE:Search Used Tesla Cars for Sale
Susannah Guthrie

Susannah Guthrie has been a journalist for over a decade, covering everything from world news to fashion, entertainment, health and now cars. Having previously worked across titles like The New Daily, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, People Magazine and Cosmopolitan, Susannah now relishes testing family cars with the help of her husband and two-year-old son.

Read more about Susannah GuthrieLinkIcon
Chat with us!







Chat with Agent