Tesla told a California regulatory body: it may not achieve full self-driving technology by the end of this year, according to a memo from the California DMV.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in January: he is very confident that the car will be able to drive itself with the reliability of human superiority this year.
Tesla has also introduced what it describes as a trial version of the FSD full self-driving program to a limited number of employees and customers since October, and Musk has promoted the program through his Twitter account.
And while Musk has said for several years: he believes that the company is about to introduce Level 5 self–driving – meaning that its cars will not require human intervention-drivers need to keep their hands on the wheel when using an automated guide.
Tesla raised more than two billion dollars two years ago after Musk spoke several times about self-driving taxis that never materialized.
Musk's tweet does not match the engineering reality, as autonomous driving is currently level 2, the California DMV said in a note about its March 9 mass call with Tesla representatives, including the auto-pilot engineer CJ Moore.
Level 2 autonomous driving technology refers to a semi-automatic driving system that requires the supervision of a human driver.
Elon Musk overestimated the ability of the company's Autopilot, or driver assistance system, early this year, the engineer explained.
The note said: Tesla noted that Elon deduces improvement rates when talking about Level 5 self-driving capabilities, and Tesla could not determine whether the improvement rate reaches Level 5 by the end of the calendar year،
The note added: Tesla has indicated that it is still fixed at Level 2, and Tesla is also aware that public misunderstanding of the limits of technology and its misuse can have tragic consequences.
The Note represents a rare glimpse into how the engineers of the Autopilot had to reconcile the high expectations set by Elon Musk with the concerns of regulators.
The California Highway Administration is investigating why a Tesla car collided with an overturned truck on a highway near Fontana, California, killing a Tesla driver.
Federal highway safety regulators are also investigating more than 20 incidents involving the company's vehicles.