Elon Musk aims to release full self-driving Tesla cars by end of year

While speaking at the Offshore Northern Seas 2022 energy conference in Norway on Monday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented on the company’s full self-driving vehicle technology, the SpaceX Starship spacecraft, and the future of the oil and gas industry as a whole in the US.

Musk told the conference that he intends for Tesla’s full self-driving vehicle technology to be ready by the end of the year and hopes it will be widely released in the US and Europe. Musk said that the timeline depends on regulatory approval for the technology. The founder also said his focus is primarily on launching the SpaceX starship into orbit around the same timeframe. 

“The two technologies I am focused on, trying to ideally get done before the end of the year, are getting our Starship into orbit…and then having Tesla cars to be able to do self-driving,” Musk said. 

Musk also made statements at the conference regarding the future of the energy industry, saying the world must continue to extract oil and gas. At the same time, the industry must work to develop sustainable, alternative energy sources. 

“Realistically I think we need to use oil and gas in the short term, because otherwise, civilization will crumble,” Musk said to reporters after the conference. When asked if Norway should continue to drill for oil and gas, Musk said some “additional exploration is warranted at this time.”

“One of the biggest challenges the world has ever faced is the transition to sustainable energy and to a sustainable economy,” Musk stated. “That will take some decades to complete.”

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