Tesla announces all new cars to be built with self-driving hardware

Innovative carmaker Tesla announced on Wednesday that it will be the first manufacturer in the US to produce electric cars completely fitted with self-driving hardware.

The Model S, X and new model 3 sedan are now being made with "the hardware needed for full self-driving capability at a safety level substantially greater than that of a human driver".

A number of automakers and tech firms have been working to achieve the goal of fully autonomous vehicles where a driver is not required. Google, Ford and Volvo are all in the process of adapting the technology for that purpose.

CEO Elon Musk said that the cars will not be ready for consumers to purchase immediately, citing regulatory issues that have to be overcome before that were to happen.

"It's not up to us, it's up to the regulators, and we hope things don't become balkanized and different in every state," Musk said.

"It's a question of what the public and regulators think is appropriate. The system will always be operating in 'shadow mode,' though, so we can gather a lot of sophisticated data to show where software could have acted or not acted."

Autopilot, the name of Tesla's autonomous driving system, has faced criticism from many after it was involved in a number of accidents, including one which led to the death of a driver in Florida.

German regulators last week called on the company to drop the Autopilot name, arguing that it misleads prospective customers.

However, Musk and Tesla have maintained that Autopilot is a term that has been used for decades by aviation professionals, and insisted that its technology is to be used as an assistant to the driver rather than a replacement.