Mr Musk announced Tesla would convert its electric cars into fully self-driving vehicles next year as part of an audacious plan to create a network of robotic taxis to compete against Uber and other ride-hailing services.
The vision sketched out on Monday (local time) during an event at Tesla's Silicon Valley headquarters requires several leaps of faith — something the zealous investors and consumers who view Mr Musk as a technological genius often are willing to take.
But self-driving car experts fear Mr Musk is shirking public safety in an effort to boost Tesla's stock and sell more of the company's electric cars.
Questions remain about whether the 15-year-old automaker can consistently make money.
"It sounds like a pipe dream that he's selling people," said Raj Rajkumar, an electrical and computer engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
"I think it's basically overpromising, which is typical of Elon Musk."
Mr Musk predicted the technology for fully self-driving Teslas will roll out at some point from April to June next year.
Then, Tesla would need to get regulatory approval for the fully autonomous cars to drive on roads, something Mr Musk predicted would happen in a few US states by the end of next year.
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