Elon Musk said Tesla may delay its cross-country road trip in a self-driving car

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday the company may push back its big demonstration of its self-driving tech.

Musk said in October that a Tesla will drive itself from Los Angeles to New York before the end of 2017. The demo, however, may occur early next year, Musk said during the company's second-quarter earnings call Wednesday.

"It is certainly possible that I will have egg on my face on that front, but if it's not at the end of the year it will be very close," Musk said.

A slight delay isn't a huge concern considering the regulatory environment isn't yet prepared to support self-driving vehicles. The possible change in course, however, does little to assuage concerns about a recent string of executive departures from the company's Autopilot team.

Tesla began producing cars last October with a new suite of hardware to support full self-driving capabilities.

That hardware will also support Tesla's second-generation Autopilot. The company has been slow to roll out the new features, which are due for a release before the end of the year.

Tesla has been working quickly to achieve its internal deadlines for Autopilot and the self-driving demo amid departures that include Chris Lattner, Tesla's vice president of Autopilot software, and Sterling Anderson, director of Autopilot.

Musk said he is confident in the current Autopilot team.

"I think we've got the best team in the world by a long shot on that front and we are growing it rapidly with world-class talent," he said.

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