One Day Human-Driven Cars Will Be Illegal

Musk seems to believe that advances in sensor and software technology will eventually render the human driver useless, and dangerous. When cars have their own onboard computers, they will be much safer and better drivers than their human counterparts. “In the distant future," he said, "They may outlaw driven cars because they're too dangerous”.

At Nvidia’s GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, Elon Musk joined Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang during his keynote presentation to discuss why the days humans driving their own cars are numbered.

Musk, the CEO of future technology companies like SpaceX and Tesla, seems to believe that advances in sensor and software technology will eventually render the human driver useless, and dangerous. When cars have their own onboard computers, they will be much safer and better drivers than their human counterparts. “In the distant future," he said, "They may outlaw driven cars because they're too dangerous”.

According to Musk, that future isn’t that far off, either. He believes that the autonomous vehicles are a “solved problem”, with Tesla as a well known leader in the field. The larger issue is, he insists, making the software and hardware reliable and compatible to safety standards so that regulators will approve them.

“Autonomy is about what level of reliability and safety do you want,” Musk said. He believes that if the onboard infotainment system can be hacked, so can the computer, which is why its important to have the steering wheel and brake system as secured separately from the online devices, so that if necessary, drivers can take control.

Tesla is not the only company looking to develop their own autonomous vehicles. Google plans to offer stiff competition, and the rumor mill will have us believe that even Apple is attempting their own car. Meanwhile, well known car makers such as Audi and BMW are working on their own autonomous vehicles set for 2018.

Musk believes that Nvidia’s technology will be a “big enabler” for Tesla’s designs. Huang gave more information regarding the Drive PX, Nvidia’s developer platform for self-driving cars that was revealed back in January. The Drive PX will be available to “automakers, Tier 1 automotive suppliers and research institutions” starting in May for $10,000.