US electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc is developing technology that could see vehicles run on “full autopilot” in as little as five or six years, chief executive Elon Musk said.
Musk said his firm was stepping on the accelerator in the race against rivals such as Google Inc and Volvo Car Corp to create a driverless car, which could revolutionize the road by drastically cutting traffic collision mortality rates.
“The overall system and software will be programmed by Tesla, but we will certainly use sensors and subcomponents from many companies,” Musk told reporters in Tokyo on Monday. “I think in the long term, all Tesla cars will have autopilot capability.”
Photo: Bloomberg
There are no self-driving cars on the market yet, but several automakers have been working on autonomous or semi-autonomous features, such as self-parking, which are seen as a major advance for the auto sector.
Musk’s comments suggest that the arrival of self-driving cars could be closer than previously thought; a January report by the research firm IHS said they could start hitting highways by 2025 and number as many as 35 million globally by 2035.
On Monday, Musk also said electric carmaker Tesla hopes to sign a new battery supply deal with Toyota Motor Corp in the next few years, as an existing program comes to an end.
Musk was in Tokyo to announce the release of Tesla’s Internet-connected Model S sedan in Japan.
The luxury electric car costs ￥8.23 million (US$77,500) and comes equipped with batteries made by Panasonic Corp.
The electric car market in Japan, as in other countries, has been growing slowly, hindered by high prices and a lack of locations for drivers to charge vehicle batteries.
Meanwhile, California drivers are fueling the sale of rechargeable cars in the US with more than 100,000 sold in the state in the past four years, representing about 40 percent of the US plug-in market.
Sales of hybrid and battery-only cars in California totaled 102,440 in the period from December 2010 through last month, the California Plug-In Electric Vehicle Collaborative said yesterday, citing figures from the California Air Resources Board, Hybridcars.com and Baum & Associates. Over the same time frame, about 250,000 rechargeable autos were sold in the US, according to industry researcher Baum.
California has since the 1970s pressured automakers to offer vehicles with lower tailpipe emissions to curb smog and poor air quality.
Beginning in 2009, the state has set tougher new standards requiring cars that emit less carbon pollution under its Zero-Emission Vehicle program, leading to a new generation of plug-in models from General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co, Nissan Motor Co and Tesla.
At least 10 percent of rechargeable car sales in California belong to Tesla, which was started in 2003 and produces the Model S. Sales of the sedan have totaled 10,834 over the 18 months through June 30.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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