Elon Musk adds full driverless mode to Tesla – with dashboard that shows what the cars ‘see’
TESLA cars in the US can now drive themselves without requiring assistance from a driver following a recent software update.
Tesla last week released a beta, or test version, of what it calls a "Full Self Driving" upgrade to an undisclosed number of "expert, careful" drivers.
The release prompted online posts by excited recipients who shared video snippets of their car driving autonomously on city streets at night.
On YouTube, user said the update caused the dashboard display to change "into a computerised graphic from the future" that showed what the car's onboard computer was seeing.
During a Tesla earnings call on October 21, Tesla boss Elon Musk said the latest upgrade was planned to be widely released by the end of this year.
The 49-year-old billionaire added that the system would become more robust as it collected more data.
The U.S. auto safety regulator said on Thursday it was closely watching Tesla Inc's release of a software version intended to allow its cars to drive themselves, saying it stood ready to protect the public against safety risks.
"NHTSA has been briefed on Tesla's new feature, which represents an expansion of its existing driver assistance system," the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement.
"The agency will monitor the new technology closely and will not hesitate to take action to protect (the) public against unreasonable risks to safety."
NHTSA in July said its special crash investigation team had "looked into 19 crashes involving Tesla vehicles where it was believed some form of advanced driver assistance system was engaged at the time of the incident."
Musk for years has promised self-driving for the company's vehicles but missed several self-imposed deadlines.
Researchers, regulators and insurance groups say true self-driving is still years away and more complex than firms anticipated several years ago.
They have criticised Tesla's promotion of its existing semi-automated Autopilot system as dangerously misleading.
A consortium of self-driving technology companies, Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE), which includes Ford Motor Co, General Motors Co and Google's self-driving unit Waymo, criticised Tesla's approach.
"Public road testing is a serious responsibility and using untrained consumers to validate beta-level software on public roads is dangerous and inconsistent with existing guidance and industry norms," PAVE said in a Thursday statement.
Autopilot and similar advanced driver assistance systems can provide steering, braking and acceleration support under limited circumstances, generally on highways.
Tesla's website describes the new software release as "Autosteer on City Streets," saying the system requires active driver supervision and does not make the car autonomous.
Tesla owners can purchase "Full Self Driving" for $8,000 (£6,000) in hopes of eventually receiving the upgrade.
Musk said early Thursday the price would rise by $2,000 (£1,500) on Monday, but later in the day tweeted U.S. price hikes would be pushed to Thursday next week.
Similar price increases will apply in other countries as the test version was released there, he added.
On , Tesla owners receiving the test version posted videos of their experience, claiming the car "literally sees everything," setting indicators on its own and navigating turns even without clear lane markings.
They also posted a picture of the software update release notes, which said the system "may do the wrong thing at the worst time," urging drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and pay extra attention.
Tesla could not be reached for comment on NHTSA's statement and to confirm the authenticity of the release note.
Who is Elon Musk?
Here's what you need to know...
Controversial billionaire Elon Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa in 1971.
As a 12-year-old child he taught himself computer programming and sold the code of a video game to a PC magazine for $500 (£300).
At 17, he moved to Canada to study, before gaining two degrees in physics and business at the University of Pennsylvania.
At the age of 24 he moved to California to start a Ph.D. in applied physics and material science at Stanford University - but left the programme after just two days to pursue other projects.
Now 49, he is the founder and CEO of SpaceX, co-founder, CEO and product architect of Tesla Motors, co-founder and chairman of SolarCity, co-chairman of Opan AI, co-founder of Zip2 and founder of X.com, which merged with PayPal.
He's also working on a human brain chip project called Neuralink.
Musk's stated aim is to reduce global warming and save humans from extinction by setting up a colony on Mars.
The billionaire inventor is also working on the world's largest lithium-ion battery to store renewable energy.
Autonomous vehicles are also on their way to Britain, which currently has plans to allow driverless cars on UK roads as soon as 2021.
The British government is due to close a consultation on October 27 that could lead to some form of automated driving on British motorways.
That could include the use of Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS) that would allow drivers to take their hands off the wheel and let the vehicle drive itself.
Experts have said the technology may put lives at risk because it falls well short of human driving capabilities.
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In other news, Musk fired his own Tesla roadster into space in 2017 – and it's just made its closest flyby of Mars yet.
A reckless Tesla driver was allegedly caught sleeping at the wheel with their seat fully reclined on a US highway last month.
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And, a new electric car from California start-up LucidAir boasts an enormous range of more than 500 miles (800km) – enough to get you from Brighton to Edinburgh on a single charge.
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