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Tel Aviv, May 18 (Reuters) - Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Monday he expects self-driving cars without human observers to become more widely available in the United States later this year after already being rolled out in Texas.

In a speech delivered via video link during the Smart Mobility Summit in Tel Aviv, Musk explained that there are already self-driving cars operating in Texas without safety monitors, adding that this model will expand nationwide during the year.

Tesla, which has seen a slowdown in vehicle sales, operates self-driving taxis in Austin, Dallas, and Houston. However, Reuters reporters who tested these vehicles said their drawbacks included long wait times, occasional unavailability, and the distance of some passenger drop-off points from their destinations.

In November, Tesla received a license to operate a ride-hailing service in Arizona.

Musk remains optimistic that self-driving cars will become widespread within ten years, even though many of his bold predictions about self-driving cars from more than a decade ago have not materialized according to his timeline.

He explained, "Five years from now, and certainly within ten years... it is likely that 90 percent of all distances will be covered by artificial intelligence in self-driving cars. Consequently, within 10 years it will be very rare to drive your own car."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stated this month that Tesla is recalling 218,868 vehicles in the United States due to a delay in displaying rear camera images, which could increase the risk of accidents.

Waymo, owned by Alphabet, recalled about 3,800 self-driving taxis in the United States last week after detecting the risk of vehicles entering flooded roads at high speeds, raising safety concerns.

Musk also said at the summit that his company, SpaceX, which specializes in manufacturing rockets and satellites, is close to developing reusable rocket launch systems, an achievement that would reduce the cost of space travel.

He added, "We may succeed in achieving that this year... and when this technology is developed, it will be a turning point in the history of humanity, when we can become a civilization capable of reaching space."

He stated that his company, Neuralink, which specializes in implanting devices in the brain, will later this year perform the first implantation of the BlindSight device to help those born blind or with visual impairments.

He added, "This technology will initially give them limited vision, but I believe that over time it will give them very precise, perhaps even superior, vision." He went on to say that the company is also working on developing technology that will enable paralyzed individuals to walk again.

He expressed his belief that humanoid robots will be “almost everywhere” within about ten years, and that increased productivity from these robots will likely boost economic growth with “rising incomes worldwide.”