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Tesla Autopilot tops China ranking for best Advanced Driver Assistance System

(Credit: u/SodiumChloryde/Reddit)

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A Tesla Model 3 and its Autopilot system received the top rank, among a list of 11, in a test conducted in China by motoring group 42HOW. Overall, the Tesla Model 3’s advanced driver assistance system received a total score of 283 points, leading with a significant gap from the second-place holder, the BMW X5, which had an overall score of 208.

The gap between Tesla and BMW speaks volumes, especially considering that the Model 3 was running software 2020.24.6.4 instead of a more recent firmware. 42HOW has confirmed that the Model 3 was was equipped with HW 3.0 and had Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software. During the test, Basic Autopilot and Navigate on Autopilot were used.


(Credit: Garage 42)

42HOW gave the cars scores for eight categories which are roughly translated below.

  1. Driving ability while in a congested road.
  2. Driving when met with special or unique circumstances
  3. Auxiliary lane changes
  4. Ability to execute curves
  5. Human-computer interaction
  6. Automatic Parking
  7. Night driving
  8. Driving ability whit it is raining

42HOW’s focus and categories seem appropriate for a test ranking automated driver-assist systems (ADAS) and each appear to hold the same weight in the total score. Consumer Reports and Euro-NCAP, in its first Assisted Driving Grading system, have scored Tesla’s ADAS using rather different metrics.

Tesla was unable to claim lost the top spot in Europe and North America in the past because some categories weighed more than others. Consumer Reports in United States ranked Tesla’s ADAS a “distant second” to GM’s Super Cruise, deducting numerous points over Autopilot’s lack of human monitoring features. The Euro NCAP and Thatcham Research in Europe heavily penalized Tesla for calling its ADAS “Autopilot,” resulting in Autopilot ranking 6th out of 10 systems.

With 42HOW’s rankings, the Tesla Model 3 scored highest in all the categories except for automatic parking and driving in congested roads. There have been a good number of Tesla users who have commented that the company’s Autopark feature still needs some work. The Tesla Model 3’s performance in congested roads may differ in each region. In China or other Southeast Asian countries, roads may be more congested than roads in North America and Europe.

Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

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Tesla Summer Update begins rolling out: a look at the new features

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has started to deploy the 2026 Summer Update to owners across its fleet, and among the biggest changes are improvements to Navigation, a new startup animation for the Model 3 and Model Y, Caraoke scoring, and new capabilities for Grok.

As the update has started making its way to some cars, we can now see a few of the features operating in real-time. We will show you what some of the new features look like in this article, along with some additional details on what changed.

Not all of the new features in the 2026 Summer Update have quite made an appearance, but some of them have, so we’ll show those here:

New Animation Screen for 3/Y

Tesla is rolling out a new startup animation for Tesla Model 3 and Model Y owners. This is present in Launch Edition and Performance Model 3 and Model Y, but other trim levels do not have anything like this.

Owners can adjust the color associated with the startup animation to suit their preferences. It is a surprise that more automakers do not focus on this animation for their vehicles; it can be a great first impression piece and make the car immediately feel more luxurious.

Tesla has included this on more premium trims, but it is nice to see it on the Model 3 and Model Y.

Grok Improvements

Grok can now adjust more things in the car outside of the Navigation system. Now, drivers can adjust anything from climate to driving settings by simply speaking to the AI assistant in the car:

You don’t even have to push a button, either. Instead, you can just say “Hey, Grok,” if you have it enabled. That feature rolled out with the 2026 Spring Update just a few months back.

This is a great feature, especially pertinent for the Robotaxi platform, as there will be no buttons inside the Cybercab when it eventually starts giving rides to the public. It also broadens Grok’s capabilities, which were relatively limited in terms of vehicle setting adjustments beforehand.

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Tesla briefly offered this Robotaxi part for your personal car

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Credit: @tpgoebel | X

Tesla briefly offered one Robotaxi part in its Parts Catalog for your personal car, only to remove it just a short time after it was first noticed.

Tesla’s Robotaxi camera washer apparatus was briefly available for purchase on the company’s Online Parts Catalog. The camera washer was first noticed on Model Y Robotaxi vehicles about six months ago in Austin.

First noticed by Not a Tesla App, the Camera Washer entries appeared for the new “Juniper” Model Y under a category called “Halo,” which has also now disappeared. Interestingly, Halo probably is related to Tesla’s internal “Project Halo,” which was a project that aimed to retrofit customer-owned Model Ys into functional Robotaxis.

This hardware addition would likely be required for the vehicle to operate as a Robotaxi, as the Camera Washer seems to be a non-negotiable part of the vision-based system Tesla utilizes for self-driving efforts.

However, this part has since been removed and is no longer visible on the EPC.

Now the true question lingers: Why would Tesla add this Camera Washer to the Model Y parts catalog? Is it planning to make it available for owners to utilize on their own cars for personal use, or will it become a prerequisite for Robotaxi operation in customer-owned cars?

While discussing the upgrade options for Hardware 3 vehicles during the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had said that the company could establish small, satellite shops that would upgrade cameras and self-driving computers. Perhaps this same strategy could be utilized for vehicles that want to be included in Robotaxi but do not have the correct hardware.

AI4 is currently represented as capable of unsupervised self-driving, and the same was said about HW3 at one point, only for Tesla to admit last quarter that it would, unfortunately, not be possible. Perhaps AI4 vehicles might need this camera washer as a prerequisite, just as HW3 cars will need that camera and computer upgrade.

This could be the first hint of that’s where we are headed.

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Tesla Robotaxi gets sweeping but polarizing change

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has started rolling out a broader change to the ride experience for its Robotaxi fleet by silencing turn signals, but the change is certainly polarizing.

Tesla has generally made it clear that its purpose-built ride-hailing platform, Robotaxi, will cater to the rider in nearly every way possible. This includes having climate preferences, music, and other personal settings loaded up in the car as the rider enters.

But Tesla is taking it a step further by muting turn signal chimes altogether, a change that appears to be a way to make the ride more peaceful:

However, there are a handful of people who are not thrilled about this change. Turn signals are a conditioned part of the human mind for those who ride in a car regularly.

Taking a turn without one feels strange and odd, and not hearing it click while activated could set off some alarms for riders, who might use the noise as confirmation that other drivers know of their intention to turn.

Turn signal noises are still audible in customer cars, so if you use FSD in your personal vehicle, you will still hear the turn signal.

The move is certainly one that is unique, but not one that separates it from other ride-sharing services. In a normal car, the clicking sound confirms to the driver that the blinker is active. In a fully driverless Robotaxi, that feedback serves no purpose for passengers, other than peace of mind.

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