Mercedes’ latest technology is ahead of Tesla in one key area

The German manufacturer Mercedes-Benz (MBGAF) outpaced Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA) in technology at the heart of the latter’s technological ethos.

The three-pointed star was the first automaker to offer Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Level 3 hands-free, eyes-free self-driving in a technology called Drive Pilot. As of June 8, 2023, it is approved for sale, rental and use in two US states: Nevada and California.

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At the time, Mercedes said Drive Pilot could only be used on certain sections of highway at speeds below 40 miles per hour; making it suitable for resting your hands, feet and sanity on those notorious Los Angeles freeway traffic jams.

However, Mercedes engineers in Germany found a way to make an already revolutionary technology even better.

A Mercedes-Benz representative watches “Ghostbusters” while using the DRIVE PILOT 95 Level 3 self-driving system.

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes Benz Freeway Crusing (Hands Free).

Mercedes-Benz announced on September 23 that its Drive Pilot system will receive a significant update in Germany.

Starting in early 2025, Mercedes vehicles equipped with its Drive Pilot system will receive a slight speed boost. Instead of conforming to a speed of up to 60,000 km/h (~37 miles per hour), the full Drive Pilot system will be able to drive passengers up to a speed of 95 km/h (~60 miles per hour) on Germany’s Autobahn in the comfort of Mercedes.

Mercedes-Benz chief technology officer Markus Schäfer said the increased speed will allow drivers of its vehicles to “use even more of their time more efficiently”. The extent of this, according to Mercedes, can include “secondary activities” such as “working, surfing the web, watching TV or even streaming a movie” while Drive Pilot drives the car.

Mercedes says the new update will not require any new external equipment such as LiDAR, radar or camera equipment; it’s simply a software update that will simply happen over the air at Tesla, pending re-certification by Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority, which is expected by the end of this year.

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Once regulators certify the new update, current Drive Pilot owners can upgrade for free, or owners of eligible vehicles without Drive Pilot can purchase it for a fee of €5,950 (~$6,617).

Mercedes says it’s not done unlocking the full extent of what its autonomous technology can do. In Germany, the speed limit for autonomous vehicles is 130 km/h (~81 mph), and Mercedes is trying to push its vehicles to this speed by 2030. In addition, it is already testing Level 4 autonomy on roads in China – same SAE autonomy level as Google’s Waymo (GOOGLE) robotaxis.

But while Waymo’s robotaxi is licensed to pick up passengers and roam the city streets and highways of US cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix within posted speed limits, the Mercedes Drive Pilot system is designed to be used by Mercedes owners exclusively on motorways — especially in the right lane of the motorway with another vehicle in front of it.

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Additionally, in the interest of safety, Mercedes informs other drivers on the road that the driver behind the wheel is using this feature. Beginning in the 2026 model year, Drive Pilot-equipped Mercedes S-Class and EQS sedans will roll out with turquoise lights in Nevada and California to signal to other drivers that the feature is in use.

“The inclusion of boundary lights is poised to substantially increase public acceptance of automated driving and contribute to road safety, as the lights clearly visualize the status of the automated driving system on the outside,” Mercedes-Benz said in a statement in December 2023. “This also allows traffic enforcement authorities and police officers to identify the state of the system and determine whether drivers are permitted to engage in secondary activities during conditional automated travel.”

In a statement to TheStreet, a spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz USA said:

“Currently, the advanced speed features of DRIVE PILOT, which are available in Germany, will not be extended to the US market due to differences in roads, conditions and traffic. Focused on safety, we are committed to adapting our technology to meet the unique requirements of different markets as regulations and conditions allow.”

Mercedes-Benz Group AG, which trades on the OTC markets as MBGAF, is up 1.59% today, trading at $62.35 at the time of writing.

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