Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) told a California controller that it may not accomplish full self-driving technology before the current year’s over, a memo by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) appeared.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during an earnings conference call in January that he was “highly confident the car will be able to drive itself with reliability in excess of human this year.”
Tesla has likewise carried out what it depicts as a “beta” version of its “full self-driving” (FSD) program to a limited number of representatives and clients since October, and Musk has promoted the ability on Twitter.
“Elon’s tweet does not match engineering reality per CJ. Tesla is at Level 2 currently,” the California DMV said in a memo about its March 9 conference call with Tesla delegates, including autopilot engineer CJ Moore. Level 2 technology refers to a semi-automated driving system, which requires supervision by a human driver.
The memo was released by legal transparency group PlainSite, which acquired it under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
“Tesla indicated that Elon is extrapolating on the rates of improvement when speaking about L5 capabilities. Tesla couldn’t say if the rate of improvement would make it to L5 by end of calendar year,” the memo said, referring to level 5 full autonomous technology.
The California DMV, Tesla and Moore were not immediately accessible for comment.
“Tesla indicated that they are still firmly in L2,” California DMV said in the memo. “As Tesla is aware, the public’s misunderstanding about the limits of the technology and its misuse can have tragic consequences.”
The California Highway Patrol is researching why a Tesla vehicle collided with a overturned truck on a highway close to Fontana, California, on Wednesday, killing the Tesla’s driver. The patrol didn’t say if the Tesla was working on Autopilot.
Government highway safety regulators are exploring in excess of 20 accidents including Tesla vehicles.