Tesla Motors Autopilot Update: Company CEO Ramping Up Division, Needs Engineers

Shortly after Hong Kong’s Transportation Department demanded that Tesla Motors Inc. remove "Autopilot" features that let the car steer and change lanes without driver intervention, Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted a flurry tweets Thursday night, announcing the company is ramping up its autonomous vehicle division, TechCrunch reported. In the tweets, Musk made it clear the California company is searching for some fresh talent.

“Ramping up the Autopilot software team at Tesla to achieve generalized full autonomy. If interested, contact autopilot@teslamotors.com,” Musk tweeted. In another tweet, Musk wrote, “We are looking for hardcore software engineers. No prior experience with cars required. Please include code sample or link to your work,” and also, “Should mention that I will be interviewing people personally and Autopilot reports directly to me. This is a super high priority.”

Amid driver safety concerns from local officials, Tesla's Autopilot features were disabled wirelessly this week in Hong Kong.

“Although vehicles may be equipped with advanced driver assistance systems, the roads in Hong Kong are extremely busy, and motorists should stay alert [and] maintain control of the vehicle,” the agency said in a warning to Tesla Model S owners, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Autopilot features, which can be downloaded through an Internet connection to Tesla’s electric cars, might not meet regulations and may need regulatory approval before being deployed, according to the city’s Transportation Department. In response, the company said it sent letters to affected customers and was working with the department to gain the necessary approvals.

“The Autosteer and Auto Lane Change functions in our recent 7.0 software update are still pending approval from Hong Kong’s Transport Department,” said a message sent from the company to local Tesla car owners. “To ensure we comply with the country’s regulators, we will be temporarily turning off these two functions on all Model S in Hong Kong effective immediately.”

While Tesla emphasizes that customers must keep their hands on the steering wheel, the technology is advanced enough that drivers are ignoring the instructions, International Business Times previously reported.