Elon Musk says we're only 2 years from being able to nap in self-driving cars

The future is closer than we think, according to Elon Musk.

Multi-company tech mogul Elon Musk recently laid out plans for his traffic-defeating Boring company during a talk at the TED conference, but now, we finally have the full video of his appearance. And he delivers a few more interesting comments.

Answering a question regarding how long it will be before we can hop in our self-driving car, give it directions, and then take a nap until we've reached out destination, Musk says he thinks we're about two years away.

If true, that could truly change the landscape of our cities; from how human-controlled cars operate to the number of taxi drivers who may be put out of work.

Even with all the self-driving car demos we've seen, it still seems a bit fantastical, but Musk has proven time and again that he generally doesn't make such predictions without a great deal of thought behind them.

"It's a mistake to think that technology automatically improves ... It only improves if a lot of people work hard to make it better."

Musk also addressed his controversial involvement with the Trump administration as an advisor.

Reaffirming comments he's made about the issue on social media, Musk said, "I've used the meetings I've had so far to argue in favor of immigration and in favor of climate change. If I hadn't done that…that wasn't on the agenda. Maybe nothing will happen, but at least the words were said."

Finally, while talking about SpaceX and his ambitions to put people on Mars, Musk elaborated on why he thinks becoming a multi-planet species is important and not something we should take for granted as an inevitable technology development.

"It's a mistake to think that technology automatically improves," said Musk. "It does not automatically improve. It only improves if a lot of people work hard to make it better."

However, lest anyone think that he is somehow setting himself up as the savior of humankind, Musk was quick to dismiss such talk, and instead framed his work in a different light.

"I'm not trying to be anyone's savior," said Musk. "I'm just trying to think about the future and not be sad."

You can see the entire video, which was released Sunday night, on the TED website.

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