Ford (F) CEO Jim Farley said the company has achieved Level 3 autonomy, which allows cars to handle most driving tasks independently. Drivers in a Level 3 vehicle can take their hands off the wheel and eyes off the road, which is a pretty big leap from the current Level 2 systems. Farley also said it will be another two years before the tech reaches passenger vehicles.

Can’t Tesla already do this? Despite its name, Tesla’s “Full-Self Driving” does not meet the standards of Level 4 autonomy. Currently, Tesla’s Autopilot is not even classified as Level 3. Mercedes-Benz remains the only automaker to deliver Level 3 autonomous vehicles with its Drive Pilot ADAS, operating on approved highways in the U.S. at speeds below 40 mph.

To refresh your memory, there are five levels of autonomous vehicles, as defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE):

• Level 1 – Driver Assistance: The vehicle has some driver assist features like adaptive cruise control or lane keeping assistance, but the driver remains in control.
• Level 2 – Partial Automation: The vehicle can control steering and acceleration/deceleration in some situations, but the driver must remain engaged and monitor the environment at all times.
• Level 3 – Conditional Automation: The vehicle can drive itself under certain conditions, but a human driver must be ready to take control when requested.
• Level 4 – High Automation: The vehicle can drive itself without human intervention in most conditions within a defined operational area.
• Level 5 – Full Automation: The vehicle can drive itself in all conditions without any human intervention.

When do we get to Level 5? Elon’s been saying “by the end of next year” since he founded Tesla (TSLA).

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