Image: Tesla
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) has earned a major vote of confidence from one of the auto industry’s most influential publications. MotorTrend has named Tesla FSD the winner of its Best Tech 2026 award for Driver Assistance, calling it the most advanced driver assistance system on the market — and saying the competition isn’t really close.
In its latest evaluation, MotorTrend said that after extensive testing, no other driver assistance system matches the breadth, capability, and real-world usefulness of Tesla’s latest FSD release. While the publication has historically been one of FSD’s loudest critics, it says version 14 represents a dramatic leap forward over earlier iterations.
Just last year, MotorTrend awarded its inaugural Best Tech Driver Assistance honor to GM’s Super Cruise, choosing it over Tesla FSD due to concerns about erratic behavior, unexpected braking, and near-collisions. That skepticism has now flipped entirely. According to MotorTrend, most of the flaws identified in previous versions of FSD have been addressed in v14, while its capabilities have continued to expand.
One of the biggest differentiators highlighted is Tesla’s camera-only approach. Unlike rivals that rely on lidar, radar, or ultrasonic sensors, FSD operates solely on vision, powered by neural networks trained on real-world driving data. Despite ongoing safety debates around that strategy, MotorTrend said Tesla is “doing a whole lot more with a lot less,” noting that FSD can navigate city streets, highways, and complex urban environments that competing systems simply can’t handle.
MotorTrend also praised FSD’s user experience, from its simple activation to features like route learning, Auto Park, and automatic reverse parking into charging stalls. The system’s multiple driving profiles — from Sloth Mode to Mad Max — were cited as another example of Tesla’s deep understanding of driver preferences.
While Tesla FSD remains the most expensive system evaluated at $8,000 upfront or $99 per month, MotorTrend concluded that the added cost is justified by its unmatched utility. “You get what you pay for,” the publication said, emphasizing that no other ADAS comes close in terms of scope.
The recognition comes as Tesla continues pushing toward full autonomy. While the Waymo One won MotorTrend’s 2026 Autonomous Vehicle award, Tesla is actively expanding its Robotaxi pilot and even testing “unsupervised” FSD in Austin. Recent updates to the public FSD build have even enabled limited hands-free activities like texting when conditions allow, signaling how quickly the system is evolving.
After years of criticism, MotorTrend’s verdict is clear: Tesla FSD (Supervised) has reached a new level — and for now, it sits at the top of the driver-assistance world.
