In a major blow to Tesla, Mercedes-Benz has become the first carmaker to be given permission to sell or lease its auto-driven vehicles to the public in California, which is Tesla’s largest market.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has approved the luxury automobile company’s SAE Level 3 Drive Pilot system on designated highways and under certain conditions without the active control of a human driver, said the state agency in a press release.
Mercedes-Benz is the fourth company to receive an autonomous vehicle deployment permit in California and the first authorized to sell or lease vehicles with an automated driving system. A deployment permit authorizes a company to make its autonomous technology commercially available outside of a testing program.
