The automotive industry has experienced major changes in the past decade with the introduction of new technologies and electric vehicles. Currently, in the self-driving world, all the eyes are on Tesla. However, Tesla is far from the only self-driving technology.
Tesla is the most widely recognized in autonomous vehicle discussions because of its widespread branding as an electric car company. However, Tesla has only achieved level two autonomous driving.
There are five different levels of autonomous driving according to the SAE. Level two is where the driver must be paying attention to the road for the system to work and it will steer, brake, and accelerate for the driver.
“My family bought a Tesla because of all the cool technology and features we saw it had, but in reality, many other car brands offer the same features. They just do not get the same attention that Tesla gets for those features,” stated senior Prajay Gutti. Various brands ranging from Nissan to Audi to Ford all have level two autonomous driving.
In 2023, Mercedes Benz gained approval from the US to sell vehicles equipped with a conditional level three autonomous system, becoming the first car manufacturer to achieve this. A level three autonomous system means drivers do not need to pay attention to the road and can use devices like their phones while autonomous driving is engaged under certain conditions. These conditions include driving during the daytime or at speeds under 40 miles per hour.
“Now that Mercedes Benz has level three self-driving driving, this is a big incentive for people to start exploring cars with autonomous features,” said senior Manusri Mutyala. This will be the beginning of integrating self-driving into daily life as it becomes easier and easier to do so.
“Tesla has some major competition, and I have even heard about autonomous taxi services that exist in major cities like Los Angeles,” stated Gutti. For example, Waymo, a California-based company, has autonomous taxis that people can ride. There is no driver; the taxis are all level-four autonomous vehicles. These taxis are not for sale, however.
A level four autonomous vehicle is fully autonomous but only in certain areas whereas a level five is fully autonomous anywhere. In level four autonomous vehicles the driver while never be prompted to take over the car and can even fall asleep.
Tesla is moving towards level three autonomous driving with incremental software updates the same way that one’s phone receives software updates, but until then Tesla will face a lot of competition. Along with Tesla’s autonomous taxi, announced in October, the company is far behind its competition like Waymo. Nevertheless, the autonomous vehicle industry is progressing at a rapid rate.
