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Tesla Autopilot is now a ‘distant 2nd’ to GM Super Cruise: Consumer Reports

A Tesla Model 3 utilizing its Navigate on Autopilot feature. (Credit: Tesla)

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5 years ago

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Tesla’s Autopilot may have the best performance, capabilities, and ease of use in Consumer Reports’ recent ranking of active driving assistance systems, but it remains “a distant second” to GM’s Super Cruise nonetheless. This was according to the testing organization on Wednesday.

The results echo Consumer Reports’ findings in its first-ever ranking of active driving assistance systems back in 2018, which also ended with GM Super Cruise taking the top spot and Tesla Autopilot taking second place. This time around, the testing organization tested 17 systems from various carmakers, as opposed to the four that were evaluated in 2018. Needless to say, the results were quite interesting.

Each of the active driving assistance systems in this year’s test was evaluated under the following metrics: Capability and Performance, Keeping the Driver Engaged, Ease of Use, Clear When Safe to Use, and Unresponsive Driver. Tesla’s Autopilot aced two of these metrics, specifically Capability and Performance as well as Ease of Use. Autopilot earned an impressive score of 9/10 in Capabilities and Performance and a 7/10 for Ease of Use.

(Credit: Cadillac)

According to Consumer Reports, Autopilot performed the best among the 17 systems it tested in its lane-keeping assist tests. Autopilot was also deemed the best when it comes to how easy it is to use. Kelly Funkhouser, CR’s head of connected and automated vehicle testing, noted that systems that score well in Ease of Use usually require non-complex input from drivers. “One of the last things you want in a system that is supposed to assist the driver is to make things overly complicated,” Funkhouser said.

Unfortunately for Tesla, Autopilot was rated poorly by Consumer Reports when it came to the Keeping the Driver Engaged metric. For this metric, Tesla’s driver-assist system earned a paltry 3/10 score due to Autopilot’s alleged lack of driver monitoring systems. In contrast, GM’s Super Cruise, the highest-ranking system in this metric with a 7/10 score, was praised for its camera-based driver monitoring system that uses eye-tracking technology.

Super Cruise was also the top-ranked system with an 8/10 score in the Clear When Safe to Use metric, since the system could only be used on areas where the driver-assist suite could perform safely. “Cadillac stood out in this category because Super Cruise can be used only on pre-mapped, divided highways. Plus, Super Cruise will even warn the driver in advance when there is an upcoming lane-merge or complex situation that requires extra attention.,” Consumer Reports noted.

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(Credit: Consumer Reports)

Tesla Autopilot earned a 2/10 score in Clear When Safe to Use, due to the system being accessible in areas that are not low-risk. “Active driving assistance systems should only be able to be activated in low-risk driving environments, void of pedestrians and tricky situations, such as intersections and complicated traffic patterns,” Funkhouser said.

Tesla Autopilot earned a 6/10 score for Consumer Reports’ Unresponsive Driver metric. This metric, as noted by the testing organization, evaluates systems based on their capability to operate vehicles safely in the event that the driver falls asleep or encounters a medical emergency. Systems were evaluated based on their escalation process for warnings, steering control, and speed control.

Overall, GM Super Cruise earned a total score of 69 from the testing organization, while Tesla Autopilot earned a total score of 57. Following closely was Ford Co-Pilot 360 at 52 and Audi Pre Sense at 48. Funkhouser, for her part, noted that Super Cruise’s driver monitoring system remains a difference-maker. “Even with new systems from many different automakers, Super Cruise still comes out on top due to the infrared camera ensuring the driver’s eyes are looking toward the roadway,” the head of connected and automated vehicle testing said.

Consumer Reports’ discussion of its recent active driving assistance suite rankings could be accessed here.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla begins production of new Model Y trim at Giga Berlin

Tesla announced on Monday that its Model Y Standard configuration was officially being built at Giga Berlin, less than one month after the company officially announced the configuration early last month.

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1 hour ago

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November 4, 2025

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has begun production of the new Model Y trim at Gigafactory Berlin, the company’s production plant in Germany.

Tesla announced on Monday that its Model Y Standard configuration was officially being built at Giga Berlin, less than one month after the company officially announced the configuration early last month.

On October 7, Tesla announced the launch of the Model 3 and Model Y Standard trim levels, its answer to the call for affordable EVs within its lineup and its response to the loss of the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit.

On October 3, Tesla started production of the vehicles in Germany:

The Standard iteration of the Model Y is void of many of the more premium features that are available in the Rear-Wheel-Drive, All-Wheel-Drive, and Performance trims of the vehicle are equipped with.

A few of the features of the Model Y Standard are:

  • Single Motor configuration
  • No rear touchscreen
  • Textile seats with vegan leather, instead of all vegan leather
  • 320-mile range
  • No glass roof

The launch of the Model Y Standard was truly a move to help Tesla get vehicles into the sub-$40,000 price point, and although many consumers were hoping to see the company get closer to $30,000 with these cars, this is a great starting point.

Deliveries in the United States have already started, and it seems it will be a vehicle that will do one of two things: either push some consumers to finally make the jump to Tesla, or it will give car buyers another reason to buy the Premium trims, as they may feel the lack of features is not a good enough deal.

This is something we saw with the Cybertruck’s Rear-Wheel-Drive configuration, which launched last year and ended up being more of the latter option listed above.

The Tesla Model Y Standard is actually a great deal in Europe

It was only a $10,000 discount from the All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck, but it also did not have adaptive air suspension, premium interiors, or the powered tonneau cover, which many people felt was too much of a sacrifice.

The Rear-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck was discontinued only a few months later.

It does not seem as if this is the case with the Model Y Standard, which already seems to be an attractive option to some buyers.

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Cybertruck

Tesla begins wide rollout of Full Self-Driving v14 to Cybertruck

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16 hours ago

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November 3, 2025

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Credit: Weibo (via YYDS on X)

Tesla has officially begun the wide rollout of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14 to the Cybertruck about a month after the company started rolling it out to other vehicles in the fleet.

On Monday, Tesla officially started rolling out v14.1.5 to Cybertruck owners, the first FSD v14 rollout for owners of the all-electric pickup.

Owners have been anxiously waiting for Tesla to begin the wide release of v14 to Cybertruck, as the company said it would refine the suite for the vehicle.

Tesla has finally started rolling out to many owners, who are reporting that their Cybertrucks are downloading Software Update 2025.38.8.5, which contains FSD v14.1.5:

Tesla has to be more cautious with rolling out FSD on the Cybertruck than on other vehicles for a few reasons. Initially, the Cybertruck utilizes an all-wheel steering system that turns differently than the S3XY lineup. This creates a challenge for the Tesla AI team as they have to cater to this specific maneuvering change.

Additionally, the Cybertruck is much larger, and the exterior cameras responsible for seeing the vehicle’s surroundings are placed differently than those of the other vehicles.

This requires additional calibration to ensure safety.

The full release notes for Full Self-Driving v14.1.5 are as follows:

  • Added Arrival Options for you to select where FSD should park: in a Parking Lot, on the Street, in a Driveway, in a Parking Garage, or at the Curbside.
  • Added handling to pull over or yield for emergency vehicles (e.g. police cars, fire trucks, ambulances).
  • Added navigation and routing into the vision-based neural network for real-time handling of blocked roads and detours.
  • Added additional Speed Profile to further customize driving style preference.
  • Improved handling for static and dynamic gates.
  • Improved offsetting for road debris (e.g. tires, tree branches, boxes).
  • Improve handling of several scenarios including: unprotected turns, lane changes, vehicle cut-ins, and school buses.
  • Improved FSD’s ability to manage system faults and recover smoothly from degraded operation for enhanced reliability.
  • Added alerting for residue build-up on interior windshield that may impact front camera visibility. If affected, visit Service for cleaning!

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Elon Musk shuts down Tesla ‘AMG’ division speculation: ‘Focus is autonomy’

“I think it’s best to leave that to the custom shops. Tesla’s focus is autonomous cars, building futuristic autonomous cars. We want the future to look like the future.”

Published

18 hours ago

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November 3, 2025

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Credit: Unplugged Performance

Tesla CEO Elon Musk was asked by Joe Rogan late last week whether the company would ever consider establishing an “AMG division” like Mercedes-Benz has established for powerful, race-inspired vehicles.

However, Musk turned down any talk of that, highlighting that the company is laser-focused on autonomous vehicles, seemingly hinting that any distraction from autonomy would be a detriment to the future.

Rogan drives a Tesla Model S himself, but it is not your run-of-the-mill all-electric sedan. Already outfitted with the Plaid powertrain that Tesla developed, Rogan took his vehicle to Unplugged Performance for a true performance outfitting.

The vehicle is completely overhauled with performance parts and seats. Known as the Model S-APEX, Rogan took delivery of it from Unplugged in January.

Rogan asked Musk on Friday during his most recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast whether Tesla would ever establish an “AMG division” that would focus on catering Teslas to performance-based standards.

Musk said:

“I think it’s best to leave that to the custom shops. Tesla’s focus is autonomous cars, building futuristic autonomous cars. We want the future to look like the future.”

Tesla fans have said for years that the company should consider acquiring Unplugged Performance and its Upfit Tesla division, which recently outfitted the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s fleet of Cybertruck cruisers.

However, it seems Tesla will keep things separate. Musk is primarily focused on autonomy, which will drive the technology forward and drive shareholder growth. Something like an outfitter for performance would be a cool thing for the owners who have the interest and the money.

It’s not a tremendous revenue driver or anything that would contribute to the financial state of the company. Mercedes-Benz, for example, is more accessible for consumers as it sold over 140,000 units from its AMG brand in 2024.

Tesla Model Y driver starts race in reverse, still wins against AMG SUV

It helps with driving revenue higher by as much as 15 percent compared to similar models that are not AMGs. However, would Tesla see this much of a benefit? Likely not, because the Performance trim already caters to many owners.

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