Tesla's self-driving cars will drive coast to coast in 2018

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By Matthew Griffin Future Transport 20th June 2017

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

Auto manufacturers are relentlessly pursuing a future without drivers and Elon Musk and Tesla want to be at the forefront of the revolution.

Elon Musk has let of another Twitter storm, this time concerning the future of Tesla’s autonomous cars and software updates, and he told his assembled Twitter fans that Tesla’s coast to coast tests are still on track to take place at the end of this year, which means that you could see coast to coast autonomous driving by 2018, and that all Tesla cars built since October 2016 would be updated.

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The plan, which he announced earlier this year at a TED talk, is “to go all the way from a parking lot in California to a parking lot in New York with no controls touched in the entire journey.”

He also gave updates concerning Tesla’s Autopilot system after some users reported finding the experience uncomfortable after the speed limitations were lifted in May and he added that Tesla’s now updated the software for a smoother ride to give Tesla owners “an experience that is as smooth as silk.”

The speed limit on the vehicles was originally limited to 145 km per hour (90 mph) on highways and no more than 8 km per hour (5 mph) above the speed limit when off the highway, and as if that wasn’t enough to send every Tesla driver over the edge on excitement he also announced that the next updates would feature a perpendicular parking capability and auto windshield wipers.

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However, all of this is arguably still just the beginning for Tesla and Elon Musk after he penned a deal with Dubai who are going to be one of the first countries in the world to build out a futuristic end to end autonomous transportation network, that includes Hyperloop trains and flying taxi’s, and who knows, again, if Musk has his way, we might see Tesla’s zipping along underground tunnels in Los Angeles as, when and if his Boring Company plans get underway.

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Matthew Griffin, described as “The Adviser behind the Advisers” and a “Young Kurzweil,” is the founder and CEO of the World Futures Forum and the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures consultancy working across the next 50 years, and is an award winning futurist, and author of “Codex of the Future” series.

Regularly featured in the global media, including AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, RT, Viacom, and WIRED, Matthew’s ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of revolutionary emerging technologies on global culture, industry and society, is unparalleled. Recognised for the past six years as one of the world’s foremost futurists, innovation and strategy experts Matthew is an international speaker who helps governments, investors, multi-nationals and regulators around the world envision, build and lead an inclusive, sustainable future.

A rare talent Matthew’s recent work includes mentoring Lunar XPrize teams, re-envisioning global education and training with the G20, and helping the world’s largest organisations envision and ideate the future of their products and services, industries, and countries.

Matthew's clients include three Prime Ministers and several governments, including the G7, Accenture, Aon, Bain & Co, BCG, Credit Suisse, Dell EMC, Dentons, Deloitte, E&Y, GEMS, Huawei, JPMorgan Chase, KPMG, Lego, McKinsey, PWC, Qualcomm, SAP, Samsung, Sopra Steria, T-Mobile, and many more.