Driving the news: Mercedes-Benz is launching an advanced driver-assistance system in the U.S. later this year that lets vehicles drive autonomously on city streets under driver supervision, setting up direct competition with Tesla's Full Self-Driving.
For context: The system, called MB.DRIVE ASSIST PRO (powered by NVIDIA) can navigate from a parking lot to a destination, handle city intersections, make turns, and obey traffic lights. It's been on sale in China since late last year.
Mercedes will charge $3,950 for three years of access. Monthly and yearly subscription options will be available, but pricing hasn't been disclosed yet.
Tesla's Full Self-Driving costs $8,000 as a one-time purchase or $99 per month as a subscription.
Like Tesla's system, MB.DRIVE ASSIST PRO requires drivers to stay alert and ready to take over at all times.
Why it matters: At $3,950 for three years, Mercedes undercuts Tesla's $8,000 upfront cost in the short-term, which could pressure Tesla to adjust pricing or accelerate feature improvements to maintain its lead.
Yes, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk doesn’t seem all that concerned.
“Roughly 10 billion miles of training data is needed to achieve safe unsupervised self-driving. Reality has a super long tail of complexity,” Musk wrote on X.
Bottom line: Whether customers trust Mercedes' system as much as Tesla's (or whether either system is actually worth the cost) remains to be seen.
OUTSMART THE CAR MARKET IN 5 MINUTES A WEEK
Get insights trusted by 55,000+ car dealers. Free, fast, and built for automotive leaders.
