Mercedes-Benz and Tesla are, to much of the collective imagination, two diametrically opposed paradigms when it comes to the vehicles they produce. The former has always been associated with luxury and a fairly classic engine model, while the latter is the most disruptive company in the industry to date. It’s true that in some ways this coincides with their classic roles, but the current situation means that in at least one aspect it’s not that they’re not different, but that they’re competing side by side.

I mean, of course, what is called innovation. I’ve always credited Tesla with bringing two great innovations to the fore: next-generation electric motors and driver assistance technologies. If not for the role played by Elon Musk’s company, it is more than likely that both technologies would be at a much lower stage of development than we can find today. Its success was a big boost for the entire industry.

However, being the first doesn’t necessarily make you the best (say Apple with MP3 players and cell phones to name a few examples), the rest of the industry may have been slow to respond. , but it is no less true that in many cases they have done so by putting all the meat on the grill, and that the results of their firm commitment in this regard have led to the fact that even today Tesla’s proposal does not hold up as it did in the past, and that traditional manufacturers, such as Mercedes have managed to put themselves first in various aspects.

The most recent example of this is the fact that before the end of this month of January Mercedes Level 3 autonomous driving will be allowed in Nevada, USA. Shortly after, although still dateless, the same thing will happen in California, so it can be expected to spread to the rest of the country in the short to medium term. In doing so, Mercedes will offer this level of autonomy ahead of Tesla, despite Elon Musk promising the same leap by the end of 2021. Currently, Tesla models continue to offer Level 2 autonomy, and the company is also facing backlash from some regulators for continuing to use misleading terminology in feature names their vehicles.

Autonomy level 3 Drive Pilot, Mercedes software, is not absolutely new. Its use was already approved in Germany in May last year, but with the strict restriction that it could only be used at speeds of 60 kilometers per hour or less. However, with the arrival of 2023, the Central European country increased this limit to 130 kilometers per hour. In this way, it is quite likely that we will see similar approvals in the short and medium term in the rest of the continent.

This is not the first Mercedes Tesla overtaking. Although it was in a test with a prototype, in April 2022 Mercedes managed to overcome 1000 kilometers on a single charge of the battery.