Elon Musk claims the new Tesla Roadster will be sentient and able to perform its stunts autonomously on request
@Scobleizer True. You will be able to ask the Roadster to perform any of the tricks shown autonomously, as it will be sentient. Also, we will have a wild looping track (crazier even than Hot Wheels) at our Texas HQ where you can test out your Roadster.
Context
Musk keeps describing Tesla products as AI, but this is a claim about a car without any technical detail, and his timelines often slip.
This is a first hand claim from Elon Musk in a reply on X, and it is more a car story than an AI one. He gave no evidence or timeline for a sentient Roadster.
Deep dive
On October 17, Elon Musk replied to Robert Scoble, writing: True. You will be able to ask the Roadster to perform any of the tricks shown autonomously, as it will be sentient. He added that Tesla will have a wild looping track, crazier even than Hot Wheels, at its Texas headquarters where owners can test their Roadsters.
Scoble had posted that drivers are not really driving the Roadster, but driving a computer that tells another computer how to drive the car, since steering, braking and acceleration are all by wire. He quoted a video of the full Roadster unveiling event shared by the account cb_doge.
That post's summary of the event lists a preview of a Tesla and SpaceX collaboration, a short flight demonstration, a fan suction system, rocket thrusters, a kickflip demo, a 0 to 60 mph time of 0.81 seconds, and production starting in 2028.
Sentience, meaning the ability to have experiences, is not something any AI system has been shown to have, and Musk did not explain what he meant. Tesla has not published technical details on the Roadster's autonomy features.
What to expect next
Watch whether Tesla releases specifications for the Roadster's autonomous features and whether production starts in 2028 as the event summary says.
Also watch for details on the Texas test track and on any Tesla and SpaceX collaboration. Musk has given ambitious timelines for Tesla products before, including the Roadster itself, which was first shown years ago, so delivery dates will be the real test of these claims.