Tesla "very close" to fully autonomous driving

Confidence is something that appears to come naturally to Elon Musk.

And on Thursday (July 9) the CEO of electric vehicle maker Tesla was sounding bullish again.

Musk says the company is very close to achieving level 5 autonomous driving technology.

With level 0 being the everyday car with no automation or assistance features, level 5 is fully autonomous.

That means they'll require no driver input, and might not even have steering wheels or brake pedals.

Musk made the remarks via a video message at the opening of Shanghai's annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference.

"I remain confident that we will have the basic functionality for level 5 autonomy complete this year."

Automakers and tech companies including Alphabet's Waymo and Uber Technologies are investing billions in autonomous driving.

But industry insiders have said it would take time for the technology to be ready, and for the public to trust autonomous vehicles fully.

Industry data showed Tesla sold nearly 15,000 China-made Model 3 sedans last month.

It's become the highest-valued automaker as its shares surged to record highs and its market capitalisation overtook that of former front-runner Toyota.