As Autonomous self-driving Cars are becoming increasingly popular, Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) also has joined the race with other automakers in manufacturing and selling ‘auto-pilot’ cars. Tesla CEO, Elon Musk talked in Japan about the company’s plans for automated cars and future of that sector to the Japanese website, ‘The Nikkei’.
Musk said that the company could come up with partially automated vehicles in three years. He added that the fully automated vehicle might take around five to six years to mature. Musk also hinted about the partnerships with other companies for some components for these vehicles.
“The overall system and software will be programmed by Tesla, but we will certainly use sensors and subcomponents from many companies,” Must was quoted as saying.
Musk added that the Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) are planning to incorporate the technology for automated cars into vehicles that might be launched in around 3 years. He mentioned that the price tags for these partially automated vehicles could be around $35000.
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) delivered their first Model S Sedan in Japan a week ago and are raring to penetrate the Japanese market with their vehicles. A prerequisite for automated cars is the internet, which is already fully loaded in all the Tesla vehicles. Must mentioned that all the Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s cars will have auto-pilot capability in long term.
Must also talked about the partnerships with Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) and Panasonic, in an effort to popularize electric vehicles in Asia. Musk mentioned about the plan to sign a deal with Toyota in 2-3 years to supply batteries, gearboxes and other components to Toyota Cars. He also mentioned that current deal with Panasonic for batteries might not be changed or altered for now.
Among the shareholders of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is Citadel Investment Group, led by Ken Griffin. As of 30 June, 2014, they hold around 46.5 million company shares.
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