Despite recent protests – some violent and destructive – a Tesla delivers good bang for the buck and comes with technology you won’t find on other EVs.
Tesla has roughly 125,000 employees and only one of them is Elon Musk. Yes, he’s the object of intense scrutiny and criticism. But he doesn’t design and build the cars and create the software. That’s the other tens of thousands of employees.
In a perfect world, buying decisions would be made based on the merits of the car, sans ginned-up Anti-Tesla bias. Below I will evaluate driver assist technology, arguably the future of driving.
Tesla Advanced Driver Assist System – good and getting better
For me, ADAS has become essential. By automating some of the most tedious driving. an ADAS makes driving safer and less stressful. I’ve tested ADAS systems extensively (for at least a week on each EV) on electric vehicles from General Motors, Ford, Rivian, Acura, Subaru and Tesla (see notes* at bottom). While GM’s and Ford’s ADAS – Super Cruise and BlueCriuse, respectively – are very good, they are not at the level of Tesla Full Self Driving. And none offer free ADAS like Tesla does with Autopilot.
Autopilot: Tesla’s ADAS comes in three variants: Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot, and Full Self Driving or FSD. Autopilot is a basic, free ADAS that comes with all Teslas. It accelerates, brakes and steers the car for you. In some scenarios that can mean the car essentially drives itself. For example, in highway driving. And Enhanced Autopilot (a $6,000 upgrade) adds features like automatic lane change, Autopark, and Smart Summon.
Full Self Driving: FSD ($99/month) is the game changer. No other U.S.-based automaker can match it, in my experience testing various ADAS. It can perform, in some scenarios, similar to a Waymo driverless taxi. And that’s saying a lot. I’ve had the chance to use both Waymo driverless vehicles and the new Tesla Model Y (which is beginning deliveries this month) and was surprised how capable the new Y was with FSD v13, the most recent version of Tesla’ ADAS.
The difference is local roads
The difference between Tesla and the rest is local roads and back streets. (Where Waymo shines too.) This is where competing automakers throw in the towel. But there is a reason for that. Local roads and back streets are strewn with risk and unpredictability. More so than highway driving. So, competing systems, such as GM’s Super Cruise, choose to limit their ADAS to highways. That’s fine. In fact, I would rather drive the car myself on most local roads. And I’ve found Super Cruise strikes a good balance between providing a very good highway ADAS while leaving local roads to the driver.
But there are also some local roads in Los Angeles where an ADAS is helpful. Those with chronic heavy traffic can be just as tedious as highway driving. And tedium leads to boredom which can lead to distraction which can lead to accidents. Tesla’s FSD doesn’t shy away from local roads. On Friday, I tested FSD v13 (version 13) in Woodland Hills in Los Angeles on a 2025 Model Y. The week before, I tested v13 on a “New” (refreshed) 2026 Model Y. In the most recent test it performed much like Waymo’s driverless system does – which I’ve used many times. I let the Model Y drive itself for about 30 minutes. It handled tricky left turns across traffic, cars cutting in front of it, and even a crowded parking lot at Whole Foods. In all scenarios it performed with the same kind of autonomy I’ve experienced with Waymo.
The beauty of an autonomous driving system like FSD is that it’s always focused. Never distracted. Contrast that with all the drivers in Los Angeles texting and driving. The point is autonomy doesn’t necessarily need to be limited to highway driving. And, I would argue, the higher the level of autonomy, the better. You won’t get that from any other carmaker outside of Tesla.
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*I’ve tested ADAS on the Tesla Model Y, Chevy Bolt EUV Premier, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevy Blazer EV, GMC Hummer EV, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian R1S and R1T, Acura ZDX Type S, and the Subaru Solterra (the Solterra comes with a less-advanced ADAS).