Elon Musk: Teslas Will Be Fully Self-Driving By Next Year

Full Autonomy

According to Elon Musk, Tesla's cars are nearly ready for fully autonomous driving.

"I think we will be feature complete — full self-driving — this year," Musk told Cathie Wood and Tasha Keeney of ARK Invest in a podcast on Tuesday. "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."

Car Naps

By next year, you'll be able to take a nap behind the wheel, Musk claimed in the same interview.

"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," he said.

And he's willing to stand by his words: "I would say I am of certain of that," he said. "That is not a question mark."

Big Promises

Musk is no stranger to making big promises. As it stands right now, Tesla's Autopilot can make lane changes, and navigate highway ramps — but it still can't handle most other roads.

In October, Tesla dropped the "full self-driving" mode from the Model 3, with Musk claiming it was "causing too much confusion" in a tweet.

The race to have cars take over all driving functions is on. Alphabet's Waymo launched a robo-taxi service in Arizona in December.

But even Waymo's cars require human safety drivers to take control on multiple occasions throughout a single ride.

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