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Tesla to Delay Autopilot Drive Mode, Elon Musk Says in Tweet

Tesla’s much-touted software failed to win the top spot in a survey of automated driving systems by Consumer Reports.

Tesla to Delay Autopilot Drive Mode, Elon Musk Says in Tweet
The interior view of a Tesla Motors Inc. Model S P90D, a model with some autopilot features, is seen during an exhibition featuring several self-driving cars outside of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., U.S. (Photographer: Drew Angerer/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Tesla Inc. will delay the Autopilot drive for navigation, Elon Musk said a day after the technology was ranked second in a Consumer Reports survey.

The company is moving ahead with a “wide release” for the ninth version of its software, while holding back on the much-anticipated Autopilot refresh, Chief Executive Officer Musk said in a tweet Friday.

Tesla’s much-touted software failed to win the top spot in a survey of automated driving systems by Consumer Reports, which gave that position to the Cadillac’s Super Cruise. Musk has asked for Tesla employees to test what the company has billed as full self-driving capability and is dangling $13,000 in savings to entice them to help.

Musk, 47, announced almost two years ago that all of the company’s cars would start being offered with the hardware necessary for full self-driving, with only testing and regulatory approvals standing in the way. A falling-out followed with two key partners -- Mobileye NV and Nvidia Corp. -- and Tesla has yet to enable customers to actually activate the full self-driving capability they’ve paid thousands of dollars for.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anand Krishnamoorthy in Singapore at anandk@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anand Krishnamoorthy at anandk@bloomberg.net, Anthony Palazzo, Tara Patel

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.