General Motors Director: Musk is ‘full of crap’ about Model 3’s self-driving potential

The Director of General Motors commented on Musk’s statements regarding the capabilities of autonomous Tesla vehicles, stating they are ‘full of crap’, according to SMH.

Musk claims that his upcoming Model 3 features hardware capable of fully autonomous driving, which is the holy grail of automotive technology, and has the potential to allow drivers to read, eat, or even sleep at the wheel during long trips.

>>>Mercedes invests a billion dollars in electric vehicle production

Scott Miller, the Director of Autonomous Vehicles at General Motors, refutes Musk’s claims in a rather impolite manner.

– I think he is full of crap, Miller said about Musk.

Since founding Tesla in 2003, the company has become a major competitor to General Motors. In April, Tesla surpassed GM to become the most valuable American car manufacturer in terms of market capitalization, although GM recently reclaimed its throne.

>>>Porsche also introduced a competitor to Tesla – the Mission E model

Tesla, like other automotive companies, is currently testing its autonomous vehicles on Australian roads to check if the autopilot functions in local conditions. The Model 3 will be sold at a price of around $50,000 in the Australian market, and it has just started rolling off the production line at the California factory.

The new model is equipped with cameras, radars, and ultrasonic sensors for autonomous driving, and it will be available once Tesla successfully refines the software.

However, Miller does not believe that an autonomous car can be produced in that price range. GM’s solution for such a car includes several radars and Lidar sensors, as well as cameras. Each such system costs several hundred thousand dollars, and GM does not want to cut costs to make the price commercially viable.

>>>Musk ‘postponed’ the presentation of the autonomous electric truck to the end of October

Miller explains this by arguing that it is not physically possible to create a fully safe autonomous car with just five cameras and radars, and he believes that it is necessary to install the appropriate sensors and the right computing package.

GM’s plans also include a fleet of autonomous cars available to a larger number of users, which will directly compete with Uber and taxis. Such a fleet could be on the roads within the next year or two; however, Miller believes that fully autonomous vehicles intended for personal use will not be available for the next 10 to 15 years.