Mercedes-Benz beats Tesla to FSD punch with Level 3 autonomous driving for US roads — Ts and Cs apply

Despite showboating its admittedly impressive Full Self Driving Beta and repeatedly promising Level 5 fully autonomous driving, Tesla has still not yet delivered the robotaxi of CEO Elon Musk's dreams. According to an exclusive report by Fortune, however, Mercedes-Benz has taken its first steps to beating the American EV maker to the FSD punch with its Level 3 Drive Pilot technology.

Mercedes-Benz USA announced its intention to sell EVs with its Level 3 Drive Pilot autonomous driving tech in the US late last year, but the EQS and ICE S-Class sedans are only now making it to the streets, with 65 Drive Pilot cars available in California at the time of writing. The Level 3 certification allows Mercedes-Benz owners to let their cars do the driving, even while unattended, meaning drivers can text, watch movies, browse social media, or perhaps even engage in a spot of gaming on something like a Lenovo Legion Go (curr. $649.99 from Lenovo).

Unlike Tesla's FSD Beta, which relies on a vision-only system that employs an array of cameras around the outside of the car, Mercedes-Benz uses a series of radar, LiDAR, and ultrasound sensors to determine driving conditions. Similarly, unlike Tesla, the Mercedes-Benz ADAS suite is geofenced, meaning it can only drive on certain roads in California and Nevada.

Drive Pilot is also subject to certain conditions: It can only operate in daytime during clear weather and at traffic speeds of up to 40 mph on freeways where there are clear lane markings and while the driver is visible by the interior camera. It also cannot operate around construction zones.

Drive Pilot is a paid add-on and will reportedly cost $2,500 from the Mercedes-Benz, making it almost a third of the price of Tesla's $8,000 FSD. It is also a more conservative, and arguably more limited, system, since it does not change lanes autonomously or automatically navigate, like Tesla's FSD can.

These limitations are in place to ensure that Drive Pilot can operate safely, although they do put a bit of a damper on the excitement of an autonomous driving future. That said, perhaps caution is warranted, given that Tesla spends a considerable sum on legal fees and settlements surrounding accidents involving its FSD.