Musk focuses on mass production of self-driving Teslas

Tesla chief Elon Musk said on Monday he aims to have the electric carmaker’s self-driving technology ready by the end of the year and hopes it could be widely rolled out in the United States and eventually in Europe, subject to regulatory approval.

Speaking at an energy conference in Norway, Musk said his attention is currently focused on his SpaceX Starship spacecraft and self-driving Tesla electric cars.

“The two technologies that I’m focusing on, ideally trying to get done before the end of the year, put our spacecraft in orbit…and then have Tesla cars to be able to do self-driving.

“Have full-scale autonomous driving at least in the United States, and … potentially in Europe, depending on regulatory approval,” Musk told the audience.

Earlier, Musk said the world must continue to extract oil and gas to sustain civilization, while developing sustainable energy sources.

“Really, I think we have to use oil and gas in the short term, because otherwise civilization will collapse,” Musk told reporters on the sidelines of the conference.

When asked if Norway should continue drilling for oil and gas, Musk replied, “I think further exploration is warranted at this time.”

“One of the greatest challenges the world has ever faced is the transition to sustainable energy and a sustainable economy,” he said. “It will take a few decades to complete.”

He said offshore wind power generation in the North Sea, combined with stationary batteries, could become a key energy source. “It could provide a strong and sustainable power source in the winter,” he said.