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Tesla Promises More Powerful Chip to Run Autopilot

Tesla Inc. is six months away from debuting a new computer chip that will vastly improve the performance of the company’s Autopilot semi-autonomous driving system.

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Tesla Inc. is six months away from debuting a new computer chip that will vastly improve the performance of the company’s Autopilot semi-autonomous driving system.

CEO Elon Musk claims in a series of tweets that the chip will advance the effectiveness of Autopilot by 5-20 times. He did not explain what that means.

The current system can operate a car’s acceleration, brakes and steering automatically under certain conditions. The technology requires constant monitoring by the driver, who must be able to take control at any moment. The system has been a factor in several highly publicized crashes, including one fatality. In most cases, the feature failed to recognize a vehicle ahead, and crashed into it.

Musk says the updated chip will be installed in Autopilot systems for all new production Tesla cars. It also will be available as a $5,000 upgrade for customers who didn’t initially order the system.

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