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Tesla Drops Full Self-Driving Tech Option
Tesla Inc. has stopped promoting yet-to-be-developed “full self-driving” capability for its electric cars.
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Tesla Inc. has stopped promoting yet-to-be-developed “full self-driving” capability for its electric cars.
Tesla began offering customers the $3,000 option—which promises so-called Level 5 autonomous driving capability—two years ago. The option covers the cost of various sensors that are added to a new vehicle, even though the software required to deliver truly automated driving isn’t ready yet.
A level 5 autonomous system can automatically pilot a vehicle from virtually any point to any other with zero human intervention. Tesla’s current Autopilot system, considered a Level 2 feature, requires constant human monitoring and can function in automatic mode only under certain conditions.
CEO Elon Musk says Tesla dropped the feature from its website because the lack of enabling software was “causing too much confusion.” A company spokesperson tells the Los Angeles Times that customers can still add the system’s hardware as a $3,000 special order.
Tesla continues to develop software for autonomous driving. But the company hasn’t said when it expects to complete the work and be able to activate the fully autonomous system.
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