An executive at US automaker General Motors has panned claims by billionaire businessman Elon Musk that future Tesla vehicles will be fully self-driving.
“I think he's full of crap. To think you can see everything you need for a level five autonomous car with cameras and radar, I don't know how you do that,” said GM's director of autonomous vehicle integration Scott Miller.
According to the 2014 classification of the automotive standardization body SAE International, there are six different levels, ranging from fully manual to fully automated systems. The grading system is based on the amount of driver intervention and attentiveness required.
“To be what an SAE level five full autonomous system is, I don’t think he has the content to do that,” Miller added.
Miller responded to Musk’s announcement that all Tesla cars already have the hardware needed for fully autonomous driving.
General Motors will have the ability to produce level four self-driving vehicles “within quarters,” according to Miller.
The engineer added that the technology will be used in a ride-sharing system before it becomes available to the general public.
“Level five SAE? I mean is there a test for what that is? I mean Audi is saying they are at level three right now, who says that they are not? We could say we are level five right now with hands-off, but we are not,” said Miller.
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General Motors plans to produce fully autonomous vehicles within the next 15 years. The company has launched its SuperCruise system on the Cadillac CT6. The technology allows level two autonomous driving on the highway.