Tesla Says Autopilot Is Safer — By a Lot
Tesla has released its Q3 2025 Vehicle Safety Report, and the numbers are drawing serious attention. According to the data, Tesla vehicles using Autopilot were involved in just one crash every 6.36 million miles driven.
This stands in stark contrast to the national average. Based on figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), there is one automobile crash approximately every 702,000 miles in the United States. That makes Tesla’s system nearly nine times safer than the average human driver.
Tesla’s Performance Drops Slightly, But Remains Strong
Although the Q3 numbers are impressive, they mark a slight drop from last year’s results. In Q3 2024, Tesla reported one crash every 7 million miles using Autopilot. The company’s best performance to date came in Q1 2024, with an exceptional rate of 7.63 million miles per crash.
Historically, Q4 tends to be Tesla’s weakest quarter for safety performance, largely due to deteriorating road and weather conditions during the winter months. Still, even with seasonal variation, the system continues to significantly outperform the national benchmark.
Understanding Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD)
Tesla currently offers two levels of driver assistance: Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (Supervised).
Autopilot supports basic tasks like lane centering and adaptive cruise control, primarily on highways. Full Self-Driving goes further, enabling the car to navigate city streets, intersections, and traffic lights. However, driver supervision is still required at all times.
Tesla uses data from millions of miles driven across its fleet to continually improve both systems. Each real-world mile contributes to faster updates, better safety performance, and smarter decision-making.
Full Autonomy: Still a Work in Progress
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has frequently hinted at the launch of a fully autonomous driving system, one that requires no human oversight. While progress has been made, full autonomy is not yet available. Regulatory challenges and technical hurdles remain.
Final Thoughts
Autopilot continues to outperform human drivers on a miles-driven basis. The real question now is not whether Tesla’s system is safer — it’s whether the world is ready to fully let go of the wheel.
