“At least in the United States, we want to introduce autonomous driving technology on a large scale.”
(Photo: dpa)
Dusseldorf Tesla boss Elon Musk has promised the US electric car pioneer’s long-awaited self-driving model by the end of the year. He’s focused on two things these days, Musk said Monday at an energy conference in Stavanger, Norway: getting SpaceX’s new Starship rocket safely into orbit, and “getting Tesla’s cars to drive themselves.” “Ideally before the end of the year”.
Influential oil and gas managers are meeting in Stavanger. Musk spoke in a keynote address on various topics such as nuclear energy, wind power and Tesla. “At least in the US, we want to roll out autonomous driving technology on a large scale and possibly also in Europe, depending on the approval of the authorities,” said the billionaire.
The statement is met with skepticism by market observers. Musk has often announced “Full Self-Driving” (FSD), as the driver assistance system is called. A Tesla should be driving autonomously from Los Angeles to New York as early as 2018. However, the trip never took place. A year later, at the company’s Autonomy Day, Musk spoke of a fleet of robo-taxis coming to the streets in 2020. These don’t work to this day either.
The verdict of the experts: “After test drives, we only see limited short-term potential for autonomous driving,” said Dan Ives. The Wedbush analyst is considered more of a Tesla optimist. However, he is bothered by the recent price hike from $12,000 to $15,000 for the FSD system, which comes into effect on September 5th.
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“For us, ADAS represents a long-term aspiration that is incompatible with bold price hikes and promises of short-term gains,” said Ives.
In the past there have often been doubts about the technology. Unlike other manufacturers, Tesla relies entirely on artificial intelligence and cameras and does without the lidar and radar sensors that detect objects with lasers and radar.
Full Self-Driving: Beta version for selected drivers only
It’s not the first price hike. Tesla first offered FSD in the US in 2016 for $3,000 as an add-on to the so-called autopilot. This includes a whole range of assistance systems, especially for driving on the motorway. Both were later separated.
The basic version of Autopilot is free, while FSD was initially offered for $8,000 and later for $10,000. In early 2022, the system rose to $12,000. The package includes functions that recognize traffic signs and traffic lights, among other things. Only selected drivers may use the “beta version”.
Musk says $15,000 is still a bargain “The price of FSD will continue to rise,” he said two years ago. That is logical if the software approaches the autonomous driving technology that would be recognized by the authorities. “By that point, the value of the FSD is likely to exceed $100,000.”
Musk was not at the conference in Norway for the first time. Back in 2014 he surprised the audience with a speech in which he highlighted the need to say goodbye to fossil fuels. This year, numerous prominent representatives from the oil and natural gas industry took part in addition to the Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Store. Among them were Ben van Beurden, CEO of Shell, Patrick Pouyanné, head of Total Energies, and Fatih Birol, chairman of the International Energy Agency.
More: That’s why Tesla and Mercedes have so far failed to drive fully autonomously