Tesla's Elon Musk expects 'robotaxis' to start in US next year

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Elon Musk, the chief executive of electric car company Tesla, has said he expects the firm to have self-driving “robotaxis” on the road by 2020.

电动汽车公司特斯拉的首席执行官埃隆•马斯克（Elon Musk）表示，他预计该公司将推出自动驾驶“机器人”道路到2020年。

The entrepreneur made the pledge as he announced an improved microchip for its driverless vehicles.

这位企业家宣布改进其无人驾驶车辆的微芯片时做出了承诺。

Mr Musk told investors he expected regulators to approve ride-hailing in some areas for autonomous vehicles.

马斯克先生告诉投资者他希望监管机构批准在某些地区为自动驾驶汽车提供乘车服务。

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He added: “I feel very confident in predicting autonomous robotaxis next year.”

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Mr Musk said he expected the scheme to operate on a model similar to that of Uber or Airbnb.

马斯克先生表示他希望该计划能够运作类似于优步或Airbnb的模式。

• Tesla to raise prices worldwide

  特斯拉提高全球价格

The company unveiled computer hardware for what it said was “full self-driving” capabilities in the form of the new microchip.

该公司推出了新型微芯片形式的“全自动驾驶”功能的计算机硬件。

There are still technical and legal challenges ahead for driverless cars, which currently are not deemed as sophisticated or roadworthy as cars with drivers, nor safe enough for public roads.

仍有技术和法律无人驾驶汽车面临的挑战，whi ch目前不像驾驶汽车那样复杂或适合驾驶，也不能安全地用于公共道路。

Mr Musk said its custom-designed chip was the best available and a significant milestone in self-driving.

马斯克先生表示，其定制设计的芯片是最好的，也是一个重要的里程碑在自驾车中。

Tesla's vehicles are not yet at the standard of autonomy needed to earn the tag “self-driven”.

特斯拉的车辆尚未达到获得“自我驱动”标签所需的自主标准。

Level 4 autonomy means a vehicle can drive itself with a human on standby, with level 5 the standard needed before it can be called truly autonomous of human agency.

4级自主意味着车辆可以在人员待命的情况下自行驾驶，其级别为所需的标准，然后才能被称为真正的人类自治机构。

No Tesla car is at either level so far.

No Tesla car到目前为止，他们处于任何一个级别。

Mr Musk had promised previously that self-driving cars would be on the road in 2018.

马斯克先生曾承诺，自动驾驶汽车将于2018年上路。