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Tesla Releases Video of Autonomous Model X Cruising through Palo Alto

You might have expected a slightly more pompous occasion for such an important announcement, but Tesla chose to let the world know all its future cars will carry hardware sensors capable of Level 5 autonomy in a rather discreet manner.
Autonomous Tesla Model X 8 photos
Photo: Vimeo screenshot
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Well, not the same can be said about the company's CEO who took advantage of the event to berate the media for excessively covering the Autopilot's misfortunes, essentially calling the journalists who do that "murderers." But that was the single negative moment in what was otherwise a very important day for the future of the automotive industry.

But since seeing is believing, Tesla also released a video showing a Model X equipped with the new set of sensors navigating through the streets of Palo Alto completely on its own, with the person in the driver's seat being there simply for "legal reasons." Once the car reached the Tesla HQ car park - private property, then - he even got out and allowed the car to look for a spot on its own.

The clip starts with the Model X coming out of a garage, probably suggesting that this was the Tesla employee's commute to work. His route takes him through a series of suburban streets which the car navigates in a breeze, before eventually reaching the highway. The vehicle stops at every stop sign and shows no sign of hesitation. It even pulls out in front of an oncoming car that was signaling its intention to turn right, showing good awareness and understanding of how traffic works. Of course, had that car been a BMW...

We're not so sure about the song chosen for the soundtrack. Sure, it's always nice to hear The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black," but it's not exactly the most uplifting tune. Anyway, you'll most likely be so captivated by the footage that the music will just become background noise.

And it is, indeed, fascinating to watch. You see that car driving itself and realize you're only $70,000 away from experiencing that yourself. The new Model 3 will come equipped with the same sensors, so the price will actually be lower once it becomes available. Tesla said that the software it will release over the next year would eventually work the sensors on two levels, the lower one costing $5,000 and the top, $8,000.

Since the software is changed compared to the old cars, the new ones will not be able to operate at the same level as offered by the Autopilot V8.0 now. However, the new system should become better than the first-gen Autopilot by the end of next year, and continue to improve from there.


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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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