Ford announced autopilot without driver supervision. How does this threaten Tesla?

American automobile manufacturer Ford Motor has announced plans to bring to the market driver assistance systems of the third level of autonomy in 2028. Such technology will allow drivers not to keep their eyes on the road. The announcement could mean a reversal in the strategy of the American auto giant, which several years ago gave up the fight for the robotaxi market.

Ford's autopilot, which does not require visual control from the driver (eyes-off), will first be available on Ford's new electric vehicle platform, which is being developed by a specialized team in California. The first model on this platform will be a mid-size electric pickup truck, scheduled for release in 2027 with a price of $30,000 for the basic configuration.

The eyes-off system will be offered at an additional cost, Ford's director of electric vehicles and digital technologies Doug Field clarified in comments to Reuters. Today, the automaker offers BlueCruise, a Level 2 autopilot autonomy system, for $50 a month. It lets you take your hands off the wheel, but requires the driver to keep his or her eyes on the road.

The announcement of driving technology without visual control hints at Ford's renewed interest in the robotaxi market, Bloomberg writes. In 2022, the American auto giant decided to close the specialized division Argo AI and abandon the development of fully self-driving cars. Field then stated that the realization of this task is "more difficult than sending a man to the moon." Now he sees "many forces causing the awakening" of interest in the robotaxi business model, the agency notes.

Elon Musk's Tesla and Alphabet's Waymo are the furthest ahead in this market. However, Tesla's Full Self-Driving autopilot still only meets the second level of autonomy, requiring constant visual control from the driver. Tesla's current approach, which relies solely on cameras and neural networks, leaves the driver as the only safety net if the video systems fail, The Street noted. Tesla does not use a duplicate sensor, lidar, as a matter of principle.

Wall Street reacted calmly to Ford's announcement: at the post-market on January 7 on the New York Stock Exchange, shares of the carmaker rose 0.3%, partially recovering from a 0.4% decline at the end of the main trading session.

In October 2025, General Motors said it will bring eyes-off driving technology to market in 2028. The first to receive it will be the Cadillac Escalade IQ electric SUV, the price of which starts at $125,000. The third member of the "Big Detroit Three" - Stellantis - has suspended the program of development of a similar system due to high costs, technological difficulties and doubts about market viability.

Mercedes-Benz started offering eyes-off autopilot to American drivers back in 2023. However, the conditions for its use are specific and extremely limited: it must be clear and bright on the street, the route must be laid out by Mercedes beforehand, the car must be traveling at less than 40 mph (64 km/h), and there must be another car in front of it, The Street noted.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor