Tesla CEO Musk Expects Expansion of Self-Driving Cars Without Monitors in 2026

by Michael Strong

Published: May 18th, 2026

tesla ceo musk expects expansion of self driving cars without monitors in 2026

Tesla CEO Elon Musk expects there will be a dramatic uptick in the number of fully autonomous vehicles on U.S. roads without safety monitors in the second half of 2026.

He noted this will happen after they’ve been on the roads in Texas — Austin, Dallas, and Houston —during the first six months. The company recently secured approval from Arizona to begin testing there. Speaking at the Smart Mobility Summit in Tel Aviv via livestream, Musk offered a very rosy picture for self-driving vehicles for the next decade.

"Five years from now and certainly 10 years from now ... probably 90% of all distance driven will be driven by the AI in a self-driving car," he said, according to Reuters. "So overwhelmingly, it'll be quite a niche thing in 10 years to actually be driving your own car."

Musk has been notoriously bullish on autonomous driving technology — dubbed Full Self-Driving on Tesla vehicles — for years, but most of his predictions about capability and timing have been well off the mark. So much so that often mocks himself about it during earnings calls and other public appearances.

The news comes on the heels of Tesla’s first price increase of the year in the U.S. The company increased the price of its Model Y premium all-wheel drive and Model Y premium rear-wheel ⁠drive by $1,000 to $49,990 and $45,990 respectively. The company also raised the price of its Model Y Performance all-wheel drive to $57,990 in the United States, up $500 from earlier.

The EV maker raised prices on its slow-selling Cybertruck last fall by $15,000 for the Cyberbeast version. However, the Model Y hadn’t seen a bump since 2024, when prices were raised $1,000 for all variants of the world’s bestseller.

[Images: Tesla]

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Michael Strong

Michael Strong has spent more than 25 years writing about the automotive industry. A Detroit-area native, he’s written about everything from local car shows to product reviews to financial news. Currently he writes and edits for a variety of national and local publications. He’s also a longtime member of the Automotive Press Association and the International Motor Press Association, and a graduate of Georgia Southern University. Hail Southern! Despite a love for ’70s land yachts and BMWs from the late ’80s and early ’90s, his personal vehicle is neither of those.

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10 of 19 comments

Spectator on May 19, 2026

This makes me want a manual transmission and a v8 or larger engine.

3 Reply
- See 5 previous
- Luke42 on May 19, 2026
  
  FSD doesn’t work, but I’ll get over it.
  I’m happy driving my super-fast electric car with a steering wheel and pedals. 🤷‍♂️
  
  Like
- Lloyd Bonified on May 19, 2026
  
  Hope you aren't speeding on the street. I'd say take it to the track, but 7000 pounds lol. Good Luck. Get a tire sponsor
  
  Like Flagged comment
- 3-On-The-Tree on May 19, 2026
  
  Spectator- Me too, and I do miss my V6 Sienna.
  
  2
- Bd2 on May 19, 2026
  
  3OTT - That's very interesting considering the Sienna has neither a V8 nor a manual transmission cited by Program. But with memorial day coming up and your entitlement complex peaking, head on down to the local Toyota dealership and demand to speak to the manager about this. You can call them racist too and maybe they will build a V8 Manual 5.7L Sienna just for you.
  
  Like Flagged comment
- Hummer on May 19, 2026
  
  No better set of options in existence than a large displacement V8+ with a manual!
  
  3
- Normie on May 19, 2026
  
  Being a billionaire and having someone else do your driving/piloting sounds like a better option.
  
  1
- Lloyd Bonified on May 20, 2026
  
  Nah. If I were a billionaire with a list of tasks I was willing to pay others to do for me, driving would be way down that list.
  
  Like Flagged comment
- Luke42 on May 21, 2026
  
  I’ve owned two V8s and didn’t like them much. They were both in pickup trucks, and they made a lot of sound and fury for very little ΔV.
  They were thirsty, too, and performed like a tempest in a teapot.
  Those engines were OK when they were the only option, but my large EV SUV tows my camper way better than my half-ton GMC Sierra ever did.
  
  Like
- Lloyd Bonified on May 21, 2026
  
  Well if we are playing the Judge the World according to what I've owned game my EV couldn't run with most of the V6's I've owned, let alone any V8's. It's almost like that offers a very limited perspective.
  Still don't buy the towing use case though unless you are camping really close to home. Yours would be an experience nobody I know or follow has had but if it works for you, great
  
  3
- EBFlexing on ur mom on May 21, 2026
  
  “and they made a lot of sound and fury for very little ΔV.”
  If it was a truck built after about 1990 this is completely untrue.
  
  1 Flagged comment
3-On-The-Tree on May 21, 2026

I guess if you can make EV's work for you in your situation and know the limitations and work around them. I don't mind paying for gas so that cuts my limitations down to zero. And I like the engine sounds because its has soul. I don't care about quarter mile times and acceleration. I get the occasional urge for speed when I’m on my hayabusa.

3 Reply
- See 1 previous
- FreedMike on May 21, 2026
  
  I have an EV and I like V8s too. It's not a binary choice.
  But what you're leaving out about the EV driving experience is that they aren't just quick - the power is delivered PERFECTLY - absolutely linear, buttery smooth, zero effort and quiet. No hesitation, no shift points, no waiting. I've said this before, but the way my car drives reminds me a LOT of my family's mid-'70s S-class Benz - smooth, silent, and very, very capable. The refinement level is remarkable. If it ain't your thing, fair enough, but it's not a bad thing at all...far from it.
  
  2
- 3-On-The-Tree on May 21, 2026
  
  FreedMike- Thats a fair assesement.
  
  Like
- Lloyd Bonified on May 21, 2026
  
  I wish they would put that drivetrain in something befitting of those qualities
  
  Like Flagged comment
Jor65756038 7 days ago

The only way I would buy an autonomous vehicle is that I become handicaped or paraplegic. Otherwise I prefer a drive it yourself car anytime. I trust much more in me than in a f... machine.

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