Elon Musk: Tesla on track to release full self-driving this year

The system will still require drivers to watch the road at first.

Tesla is still on track to release Autopilot full self-driving capability before the end of the year, according to CEO Elon Musk.

Speaking to Ark Invest in a recent podcast, the executive clarified that he means "complete, full self-driving" this year.

"Meaning the car will be able to find you in a parking lot, pick you up and take you all the way to your destination, this year," he said. "I would say I am certain of that. That is not a question mark."

The timeline isn't exactly a new announcement, though the executive did provide additional clarification that "full self-driving" does not necessarily mean Level 4 autonomy that would not require a human driver to be ready to take over manual control at any time.

"My guess as to when we would think it is safe for somebody to essentially fall asleep and wake up at their destination? Probably towards the end of next year," Musk added. "That is when I think it would be safe enough for that."

The company has been developing its own Autopilot hardware in-house, engineering custom chips that are specifically tailored for the type of neural-net processing required for autonomous driving. The new hardware is expected to enter production later this year.