Elon Musk kicked off Tesla Inc.’s artificial-intelligence event Thursday as the company faces increased federal scrutiny of a key application of that technology: its driver-assistance system known as Autopilot.
Tesla is hosting what Mr. Musk has billed as a recruiting event around artificial intelligence, or technology designed to mimic the way humans think.
Tesla, which has delivered far fewer vehicles than more established rivals, has risen to become the world’s most valuable car maker as investors bet in part on the potential of its technology.
“Tesla is much more than an electric-car company,” Mr. Musk said.
Mr. Musk often uses such settings to drum up interest in Tesla products, though his bold predictions haven’t always come to pass. Two years ago at an event about automation, he projected that more than a million Tesla vehicles would be able to operate without a driver by the middle of 2020, positioning the company to launch a robot taxi service.
