Starting from today, electric cars made by Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) in the US will be able to steer and park themselves according to Chief Exective Officer Elon Musk.
The new ‘self-driving’ system is designed for cars made after September 2014, and is available in the US from today and will launch in Europe and Asia next week.
However, the company has cautioned that drivers will have to continue to hold the wheel, at least for the foreseeable future.
Musk said in a statement to reporters:
“We’re being especially cautious at this stage so we’re advising drivers to keep their hands on the wheel just in case.
“The whole Tesla fleet acts like a network. When one car learns something they all learn it. As more people enable autopilot, the information about how to drive is uploaded to the network. Each driver is effectively an expert trainer in how the autopilot should work.”
Musk also commented that, although self-driving technology will mean that cars will have the capacity to drive themselves within the next three years, regulatory approval could take far longer.
