Mercedes-Benz is getting the jump on Tesla with Level 3 automated driving

For the most part, it really has seemed like Tesla has been the gold standard for automated driving features, but that has seemingly changed. Because Mercedes-Benz has announced that it has achieved Level 3 automated driving and that it will be first put into consumer vehicles for the 2024 range of S-Class and EQS Sedans to be used in certain states in the US.

What differentiates Level 3 from Level 2 found in other cars is largely more driver freedom, including the ability to actually look away from the road to watch a movie, talk to a passenger, play a game, and so forth, while the car controls and drives up to a speed of 40 mph.

This system is known as Drive Pilot and as Mercedes-Benz's chief technology officer, Markus Schäfer states: "Our DRIVE PILOT takes a major step forward in achieving that, and places us at the very forefront of innovation in the crucially important field of automated driving. DRIVE PILOT demonstrates once more that our pioneering spirit is part of our DNA."

It should be said that this is currently only being allowed in the state of Nevada, but that Mercedes-Benz is pushing for compliance in California and other places.