TECH REPUBLIC, 20 OCTOBER 2016, FEAT. PROF WALKER SMITH:
From this moment forward, every new Tesla in production will be created with the hardware required for fully-autonomous, level 5 driving. This includes the new, $35,000 Model 3, set to be unveiled in mid-2018.
While the hardware will be available, Tesla will still be gathering and learning from data before releasing the software to make full self-driving possible—which it says will happen in 2018. To get there, Tesla said it will “further calibrate the system using millions of miles of real-world driving to ensure significant improvements to safety and convenience.”
In 2017, Tesla plans to test drive a fully-autonomous car from Los Angeles to New York.