Autonomous Vehicles: Where Are We with Self-Driving Tech in 2025

In 2025, we’ve got Level 4 autonomy rolling (pun intended) in some cities.

Waymo’s robotaxis in Phoenix and San Francisco? Legit impressive. You can hop into a car with no one in the front seat and trust it’ll...

Most autonomous systems rely on hyper-detailed maps, LiDAR, and predictably boring weather. Rain, snow, or surprise construction? That’s when the system politely throws its hands up (metaphorically) and says, “You drive.”

The Comedy of “Full Self-Driving” (And Why Naming Matters)

Let’s talk about Tesla. Ah yes, the brand that markets “Full Self-Driving” like it’s already here, while adding disclaimers longer than a CVS receipt.

Now, don’t get me wrong—I respect what Tesla’s doing. They’ve pushed the entire industry forward. But I’ve also watched a Tesla attempt to merge into a concrete barrier like it was trying to prove a point.

We’re not at “full” anything yet, Elon.
What we do have are “driver-assist” features that require humans to stay alert. Which is ironic, because people treat them like nap-time mode. I once saw a guy asleep at the wheel on the 405. ASLEEP. And the car was doing just fine. Until it wasn’t.

Real Talk: The Tech Is Insanely Smart—But Also Not Magic

The stuff under the hood (figuratively and literally) is amazing. We’re talking machine learning, edge case data processing, sensor fusion, and more acronyms than a government agency. Engineers are teaching cars to recognize pedestrians, pets, bikes, and those weird inflatable tube guys at car dealerships. Impressive!

But it turns out real life is messy. Dogs dart, kids jaywalk, people dress like bushes on Halloween. You can’t program for everything—and that’s the part that still makes engineers sweat at 2 a.m.

Case in point: a self-driving car once froze for 10 minutes because it couldn’t decide what to do about a plastic bag blowing across the road. The bag was just living its best life, and the car? It had an existential crisis.

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Depends on how you define “winning.”

Waymo and Cruise are leading in urban autonomy. Tesla’s ahead in widespread deployment (and headlines). Apple’s… somewhere doing something secret. Meanwhile, traditional automakers like Ford and GM are teaming up with tech firms to stay relevant.

Here’s the emotional bit: autonomous vehicles could save lives. Tens of thousands die each year in car crashes, mostly due to human error. If we get this right, it could be the biggest thing to happen to transportation since… wheels?

But we’re not quite there. Not fully. Not everywhere. For now, self-driving cars are like toddlers with PhDs—they’re brilliant, but don’t trust them alone with scissors.

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Final Thoughts: The Road Ahead (And Why You Should Still Look Both Ways)

So, where are we in 2025? In a transitional moment. Autonomy is real, but still needs babysitting. The breakthroughs are breathtaking, but the potholes—literal and metaphorical—remain.

I still get goosebumps every time I sit in a driverless car and feel it smoothly take a turn. But I also keep my hand hovering near the emergency stop button. Just in case.

The tech’s getting there. Slowly, methodically, with the occasional dramatic overreaction to a leaf. But every year, we inch closer to a world where your car really drives itself—and maybe even drives better than you do.

I’ve spent the last six years writing, consulting, and test-riding in autonomous vehicles.

I’ve been chauffeured by Waymo in Phoenix, played unofficial co-pilot in a Tesla, and once got stuck behind a delivery bot on a college campus for 14 awkward minutes.

We’re at Level 4 autonomy in some places. That means no driver needed—if the weather's good, the map’s detailed, and nothing unexpected happens (like, say, a unicyclist in a gorilla suit). In cities like San Francisco and Phoenix, fully driverless taxis are real. You can summon one with an app, hop in, and it’ll drive you around while you question every life choice that led you to trust a computer with your mortal existence.

Their “Full Self-Driving” feature is like that guy in college who insisted he was fluent in Spanish after three weeks of Duolingo. Technically not wrong... but also, no.

Yes, Tesla’s can change lanes, park themselves, and even come to you in a parking lot (sometimes). But “full” self-driving still requires a human to pay attention—which, let’s be honest, is the thing humans are statistically worst at.

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