Skip to main content

Elon Musk predicts a Tesla will be able to drive itself across the country in 2018

Elon Musk predicts a Tesla will be able to drive itself across the country in 2018

/

Summon is 'just a baby step'

Share this story

Do you think Tesla's new Summon self-parking feature is neat? Well, CEO Elon Musk says that's just the beginning. On a call with reporters today, Musk reiterated his prediction that fully-autonomous Teslas will be possible in two years' time, noting that Summon is "just a baby step."

"Ultimately you’ll be able to summon your car anywhere … your car can get to you." The sometimes-fantastical CEO added, "I think that within two years, you’ll be able to summon your car from across the country," citing, for example, a Tesla owner beckoning their vehicle to drive solo from New York to meet him in LA.

"I think that within two years, you’ll be able to summon your car from across the country."

"It will meet you wherever your phone is … and it will just automatically charge itself along the entire journey." How will it charge itself? Why, that's what that creepy prototype metal snake is for. The CEO called the snake "sort of fascinating in its creepiness," adding that "some version" of it would initially roll out to the company's supercharger stations.

Musk later admitted that his predictions "might be slightly optimistic" and he clarified that sort of autonomous driving would require more than a simple software update to existing Model S and Model X vehicles. "We do need more sensors than the car currently has to achieve that goal. You need a lot of redundancy … more cameras, more radars, redundant power buses … so that any system can fail in the car and it doesn’t need to backup to a driver."

That means that retail Teslas might not be driving themselves in two years, but Musk thinks the technology will be totally in place by that point. As he noted to reporters, ""in that timeframe of 24 to 36 months, it will be able to drive on virtually all roads at a safety level significantly better than human."


Tesla Some drivers are having too much fun with Tesla's auto-steer

Be sure to subscribe to The Verge's YouTube channel for more car related videos including our coverage at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show