Tech

Mercedes overtakes Tesla in autonomous driving

Mercedes-Benz and Tesla are, for a large part of the collective imagination, two totally opposite paradigms in terms of the vehicles they manufacture. The first has always been associated with luxury and a fairly classic engine model, while the second is the most disruptive company in the sector to date. It is true that this, in some way, does coincide with their classic roles, but the current situation means that, at least in one aspect, it is not that they are not different, it is that they compete side by side.

I am referring, of course, to what is referred to as innovation. I have always credited Tesla with bringing two great innovations to the fore: next-generation electric motors and driver assistance technologies. If it weren’t for the role played by Elon Musk’s company, it is more than likely that both technologies would be, today, at a much lower level of development than we can find. Its success was a major boost for the entire industry.

However, being the first does not necessarily make you the best (tell Apple with Mp3 players and mobile phones, to give a couple of examples), the rest of the industry may have been slow to react. , but it is no less true that they have done so, in many cases, putting all the meat on the grill, and that the results of their firm commitments in this regard have meant that, to this day, Tesla’s proposal does not stand out as it did in the past, and even that traditional manufacturers, such as Mercedes, have managed to put themselves in first position in various aspects.

Mercedes overtakes Tesla in autonomous driving

The latest example of this can be found in the fact that before the end of this month of January, Mercedes’ autonomous driving level 3 will be authorized in Nevada, USA. Shortly after, although still without a date, the same will happen in California, and therefore we can expect this to spread to the rest of the country in the short and medium term. In this way, Mercedes will offer this level of autonomy before Tesla, despite the fact that Elon Musk promised that same leap before the end of 2021. Currently, Tesla models continue to offer level 2 autonomy and, in addition, the The company is facing opposition from some regulators for continuing to use misleading terminology in the names of its vehicles’ features.

The level 3 autonomy of Drive Pilot, the Mercedes software, is not an absolute novelty. Its use was already approved in Germany in May of last year, but with the severe limitation that it could only be used at 60 kilometers per hour or less. However, with the arrival of 2023, the Central European country has raised this limit to 130 kilometers per hour. In this way, it is quite likely that we will see similar approvals in the rest of the continent in the short and medium term.

This is not the first overtaking of Mercedes to Tesla. Although it was in a test with a prototype, in April 2022 Mercedes managed to exceed 1,000 kilometers with a single battery charge.

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