SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 19 - Chief Executive Elon Musksaid on Wednesday all new Tesla Motors Inc models willcome with hardware to...
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Chief Executive Elon Musksaid on Wednesday all new Tesla Motors Inc models willcome with hardware to enable them to be fully self-driving, asthe Silicon Valley electric car company bids to be the firstamong many rivals to get autonomous vehicles on the road.
The company said that its Model S and Model X electric carsare already being produced with the new hardware, which includeseight cameras, 12 updated sensors, and radar with fasterprocessing.
The new hardware package will cost $8,000, Musk toldreporters on a conference call.
The software to enable fullyautonomous operation is still being tested, he said.
Musk said he expects that by the end of 2017 a Tesla wouldbe able to drive in full autonomous mode from Los Angeles to NewYork "without the need for a single touch" on the wheel.
He has set ambitious deadlines for Tesla many times, only tosee timetables slip.
Rival automakers have said they expect tobe able to field autonomous driving capability by 2019 or 2021.Meanwhile, older Tesla vehicles without the additionalcameras, sensors and upgraded processors will not be able todrive autonomously, although their Autopilot software wouldcontinue to be improved, Musk said.
For a time, cars with the new hardware will have lesscapability to assist drivers with steering or braking than oldercars running Tesla´s Autopilot, Musk said.
By December, he said,he expects the newer models to reach parity with the oldervehicles.
Musk said the software system is being built in-house andwill run on an Nvidia Corp Titan chip.
Vanity Purchase?
It is unclear how Tesla´s future autonomous driving systemwill be greeted by regulators.
Musk said it will be twice assafe as a human driver.However, federal and state regulators inthe United States are proposing new, more rigorous standards tocontrol the development and deployment of such systems.Edmunds Inc analyst Jessica Caldwell questioned the value of purchasing a self-driving car before regulations catch up,calling it a "vanity purchase" that cannot be used in the realworld.
In the meantime, rival carmakers could introduce bettersolutions, Caldwell said, potentially making Tesla´s hardware"obsolete almost as soon as it´s activated for prime time."
Most notably, Tesla has chosen not to include Lidarlaser-based sensors, a tool most other car makers believe isnecessary for full autonomy.
Tesla´s self-driving announcement is the latest in a seriesof efforts over the last few months by Musk to maintain investorinterest in Tesla as its stock price has fallen.
The company is expected to raise more cash from capital markets within the next12 months.
Shares of the company, which closed on Wednesday at $203.56,have fallen 23 percent since an April high, as the company hassuffered a difficult few months.
The death in May of a Tesla driver using the company'sAutopilot system, which prompted an investigation by safetyregulators, and the decision to acquire money-losing rooftopsolar developer SolarCity Corp, have increased scrutinyon Tesla´s financial and regulatory challenges.