Autopilot did the best lane keeping of 17 systems in CR's 2020 tests

Consumer Reports tested 17 driving assistance systems in 2020. Tesla's Autopilot, on a Model Y, did the best lane keeping and scored 9 of 10 for capability and performance, the top score.

  • Not rated a person

    Drivers stand to gain from a system that holds the car in the center of its lane, but Consumer Reports rated behavior in tests and reports no crash outcome.

Depth runs from 1, a convenience or time saved, to 5, a life or a livelihood preserved.

Status
Reported benefit.
Evidence

foundstudiedreportedclaimed

An independent assessment report supports the benefit.

Compared with

The 16 other active driving assistance systems in the same Consumer Reports tests. Measured.

Without the system
8 of 10 or less for capability and performance
With it
9 of 10
The system’s part
Not isolated. Consumer Reports compared Autopilot with 16 other systems in the same tests and ran no test of the car without it. It scored the system's behavior and does not describe how Autopilot detects lane lines or vehicles. On its Autopilot page in October 2020, Tesla wrote that it trains deep neural networks on problems from perception to control. It added that its per-camera networks perform object detection on raw images. Consumer Reports does not give the software version that it tested.
Not yet checked
LimitsCosts and harmsLearns from dataLater outcome

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Benefit type
Increased Product Safety
System
Autopilot, as fitted to the Tesla Model Y (2020)
Made by
Tesla
Used by
Tesla (fitted to the Model Y)
Where
United States
Stage
In routine use
Date
, when the source was published
Kind
Aggregate result
Broad benefit
Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
Collections
Scrutiny and findings
Last revised
1 November 2026

Sources

  1. Assessment report, by authors with no tie to the system.

    Mike Monticello, Consumer Reports. Cadillac's Super Cruise Outperforms Other Driving Assistance Systems. 28 October 2020, section Capability and Performance. Ratings from tests by Consumer Reports' Auto Test Center of 17 active driving assistance systems, June to September 2020.

    When it comes to lane keeping assist, Tesla did the best in our tests. But systems from Audi, Cadillac, and Lincoln performed almost as well.

  2. Other, by the makers. Context or contrary evidence.

    Tesla. Autopilot (AI and autonomy page, tesla.com/autopilotAI), section Neural Networks. Archived copy of 22 October 2020. Cited for the trained neural networks of Autopilot.

    Apply cutting-edge research to train deep neural networks on problems ranging from perception to control. Our per-camera networks analyze raw images to perform semantic segmentation, object detection and monocular depth estimation.

Details

AI system

Workflow

Consumer Reports tested Autopilot on a Tesla Model Y with adaptive cruise control and lane keeping engaged together. Each system went through 36 tests on a 327-acre track and nearby public roads between June and September 2020. Consumer Reports judged how well each system kept the car in the center of the lane and adjusted its speed behind other cars.

Follow-up

Conditions for replication

The road has lane lines that the system can follow, since Autopilot shuts off with a loud alert when it lacks road information. The driver stays ready to take over, since none of the systems reacted well to construction, potholes or objects in the road. Tesla's over-the-air updates may change how the system behaves after the tests.

Entry details

Sector

Road vehicle crash avoidance / assisted driving.

Purpose

Tesla built Autopilot to hold a set speed and following distance and to steer the car within its lane while the driver supervises.

31 more questions not yet checked

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Cite this record

Peter H. Vartanian. (2026). Autopilot did the best lane keeping of 17 systems in CR's 2020 tests (AIBD-1104). Artificial Intelligence Benefits Database, edition of 1 November 2026. https://petervartanian.xyz/aibd/records/AIBD-1104.html (archived at https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/AADSII, version 7.0)

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