Why Your Car Can’t Drive Itself Yet: The 5 Levels That Separate Hype from Reality
You’ve seen the headlines about Tesla’s Autopilot, heard promises of robotaxis, and watched commercials showing drivers taking their hands off the wheel—but what does “self-driving” actually mean? The answer isn’t straightforward because not all autonomous vehicles are created equal.
The Society of Automotive Engineers established a framework dividing self-driving car technology into five distinct levels, from Level 0 (no automation) to Level 5 (full autonomy). Understanding these classifications matters more than you might think. When a manufacturer markets “…










