In July at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference Tesla CEO Elon Musk made some startling claims. He says that the Tesla team is on the cusp of solving ‘One of the hardest technical problems that ever existed.’ And he is confident “that we will have the basic functionality for level-5 autonomy complete this year.”
The tech billionaire continues to make history as the CEO of SpaceX, Tesla, and Neuralink. And it is typical that he creates controversy, as well.
What are self-driving cars?
Level-5 self-driving cars are totally autonomous. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says “The vehicle can do all the driving in all circumstances, [and] the human occupants are just passengers and need never be involved in driving.”
Being fully autonomous means you no longer need a steering wheel or even a driver’s seat. Passengers can now spend their time in the car engaged in other activities like reading, watching a movie, talking on the phone, or working.
Currently, self-driving technology through Tesla’s autopilot is partial automation or level 2.
