Įlon Musk first discussed the Tesla Autopilot system publicly in 2013, noting that 'Autopilot is a good thing to have in planes, and we should have it in cars.' Over the ensuing decade, Autopilot went through a series of hardware and software enhancements, gradually approaching the goal of full autonomy, which, as of January 2023, remains a work in progress. Industry observers and academics criticized Tesla's decision to use untrained consumers to validate the beta software as dangerous and irresponsible.

In October 2020, Tesla started a Full Self-Driving (FSD) capability beta program in the United States as of February 2023, Tesla has about 360,000 participants in this program. In 2019, some experts criticized Tesla vehicles' lack of lidar, which is used by other companies working on autonomous driving. From 2016 through 2022, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly made inaccurate predictions as to when Tesla would be able to achieve Level 5 autonomy, with his latest statement targeting the end of 2023. Tesla Autopilot engaged on I-80 near Lake TahoeĪs an upgrade to the capabilities of Autopilot, the company's stated intent is to offer full autonomous driving (SAE Level 5) at a future time, acknowledging that technical and regulatory hurdles must be overcome to achieve this goal. Collisions and deaths involving Tesla cars with Autopilot engaged have drawn the attention of the press and government agencies. The company claims the features reduce accidents caused by driver negligence and fatigue from long-term driving. With all of these features, the driver is responsible and the car requires constant supervision. Its features are lane centering, traffic-aware cruise control, automatic lane changes, semi-autonomous navigation on limited access freeways, self-parking, and the ability to summon the car from a garage or parking spot. Tesla Autopilot is a suite of advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) features offered by Tesla that amounts to SAE International Level 2 vehicle automation. Suite of advanced driver-assistance system features by Tesla Tesla Autopilot in operation

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