Tesla adds 'Level 5' autonomous hardware

Tesla founder Elon Musk has announced that all vehicles the company produces will now feature the hardware required to deliver full autonomous functionality. And he's promised a door-to-door Los Angeles to New York demo drive will be achieved by the end of 2017... Including hands-free battery charging!

The charismatic electric vehicle company CEO made the claims and delivered the information regarding 'Hardware 2' in a teleconference just minutes ago.

All Tesla vehicles leaving the company's production facility in northern California (about 2000 per week, he claims) will be fitted with the new hardware kit effective immediately. The Hardware 2 suite includes eight cameras, enhanced sensor and LIDAR arrays and a 40-times increase in onboard computing power. Musk termed the set-up "a super-computer in a car".

Although initially the cars so equipped will have less autonomous functionality than existing 'Autopilot' equipped Model S and Model Xs, he's confident that feature parity will be achieved by the end of 2016. Thereafter the company will work towards full 'Level 5' autonomous operation for the cars. Musk suggested the Tesla system would deliver this, at least in demo mode, by the end of 2017.

"It'll take us some time into the future to complete validation of the software and get the required regulatory approval, but the foundation is laid for the cars to be fully autonomous at a safety level we believe to be at least twice that of a person, maybe better," Musk told the teleconference.

"It's unexpected by most, but it's happening right now," he explained.

"Our goal is we'll be able to do a demonstration drive of full autonomy all the way from LA to New York – from a home in LA to dropping you off in Times Square New York and then have the car go and park itself – by the end of next year [2017]," Musk stated.

Musk said the new hardware suite had been in testing for around one year. He stated the integration was "incredibly subtle".

Tesla will use its own software to drive the vision processing that informs autonomous functionality. Musk called the system TeslaVision.

"We're not using any third-party software, this is a Tesla developed neural net," he stated.

In contrast to Volvo's announcement regarding acceptance of autonomous vehicle liability, Musk said Tesla would not indemnify users of its autonomous technology. He did however use the opportunity to take a swipe at autonomous vehicle opponents.

"What matters is the absolute safety level. What's been quite disturbing to me has been the degree of coverage of AutoPilot crashes – almost none – relative to the paucity of media coverage of the 1.2m people that die each year in 'manual' crashes.

"It's something that does not reflect well on the media," Musk opined.

"If in writing some article that's negative [about AD] you effectively dissuade people from using autonomous vehicles, you're killing people," Musk stated.

Musk confirmed Tesla's next model, Model 3 (pictured) would also have the hardware. He ducked questions regarding where the funding would come from to complete the development for the mass-market BMW 3 Series-sized EV, stating today's press conference wasn't intended to address such issues.

Musk stressed the all-weather functionality of the new hardware suite. The cameras boast a detection range of up to 250m and twelve "updated ultrasonic sensors" detect both hard and soft objects at "nearly twice the distance of the prior [existing] system". The system also uses forward-facing radar.

The first 'Hardware 2'-equipped cars are scheduled to arrive here in December.

In other news, Thrifty Australia has acquired its first Model S for rental by customers.

"While owning a Tesla Model S might be a tad out of the price range of many, driving one should not. It’s an enjoyable experience and I’m proud that Thrifty can deliver that to our Members in the ACT," says Rohan Lund, CEO of the NRMA Group, which owns Thrifty.

And a Sydney-based firm, Evoke, has just added its fifth Model S to its chauffeur-driven fleet, with plans to expand further with three Model X SUVs on the way.

"We plan to add three Model X SUVs to our Sydney fleet by the middle of next year, which will be fantastic for transporting larger families in comfort and providing more flexibility for our corporate partners," says Evoke founder Pia Peterson, who also says the company plans to open an office in Melbourne in 2017.