Elon Musk wants to reach Level 5 autonomous driving in 2019 with Tesla

Following the launch of the second generation of its Autopilot system, Tesla vehicles already offer some 100% autonomous driving functionality (Auto Steering), although these systems require driver supervision. Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated during one of the typical talks organized by TED that Level 5 autonomy will arrive in 2019.

The founder of the company made it clear that the full self-driving capability option (100% autonomous driving) will enable Level 5 autonomous driving, although the driver must remain alert to any movement the vehicle makes and be prepared to take the wheel if necessary. This new generation of Tesla models will be launched at the end of 2017, although we won’t see its Level 5 technology until two years from now.

“In November or December of this year, our autonomous cars will be able to drive from a parking lot in California to a car park in New York, but it won’t be until two years from now that the driver will be able to sleep in the meantime,” Musk said.

During the talk, the company’s CEO insisted on the importance of improving the cameras (currently Tesla vehicles have 8 cameras) to achieve Level 5 autonomous driving. “The only way to solve the autonomy problem is through cameras. A car can have superhuman capabilities using only cameras,” Musk declared.

The new Tesla vehicles will incorporate a greater number of sensors, cameras and additional radars in the Autopilot 2.0 system. Version 8.0 of the current generation of the Autopilot system includes important new features that improve the system’s functionality, but further improvements are still expected to be presented.