Self-driving and FSD
What are the 5 levels of autonomous vehicles?
There are six, not five. SAE numbers them 0 through 5. The standard everyone is referring to is SAE J3016, and it defines six levels of driving automation numbered 0 to 5, so the familiar five is a miscount. Levels 0 to 2 keep a human responsible for driving. Levels 3 to 5 move the driving task to the system, with the human fallback disappearing by Level 5.
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The premise is slightly off, and the correction is the useful part. The taxonomy people mean is SAE J3016, and it has six levels, numbered 0 through 5. Counting from one and stopping at five is how the question is usually asked, but it drops Level 0 and misnumbers the rest.
The line that actually matters sits between Level 2 and Level 3. At Levels 0, 1 and 2 the human is driving, whatever the marketing says: a Level 2 car can steer and control its own speed at the same time and you are still fully responsible for watching the road. From Level 3 upward the system performs the driving task, and by Level 5 there is no expectation of a human taking over at all.
DEPLOY does not verify the standard, which belongs to SAE. What it can do is show which levels the autonomous vehicles on its own record actually claim, read from each model's specifications. That turns out to be the more revealing answer: most AV records on the registry state no SAE level at all, and none states Level 5.
Where a maker describes a vehicle as driverless or fully autonomous without naming a level, this page leaves it unclassified rather than assigning one. Inferring a level from a marketing phrase would be inventing a classification the maker never made.
The count, and the line that actually matters
Each column is attributed to whose statement it is. The middle one is the part most explainers bury.
Six levels, numbered 0 to 5
The taxonomy is SAE J3016, and it defines six levels rather than five. Level 0 is no driving automation at all, which is the level the popular five-level phrasing drops. DEPLOY relays these definitions and attributes them to SAE; it does not verify them.
Between Level 2 and Level 3
At Levels 0 to 2 the human is driving and must monitor the road, whatever the system is called. From Level 3 the system performs the driving task, and the human fallback disappears entirely at Level 5. That boundary matters more than the individual numbers.
Most models state no level, and none states Level 5
Each level below lists the autonomous vehicles on the record that state it in their own specifications. Where a maker describes a vehicle as driverless without naming a level, it is left unclassified rather than assigned one, because inferring a level from a marketing phrase would be inventing a classification the maker never made.
The six levels, highest first
Each definition attributed to SAE, each grounded in the vehicles on DEPLOY's record that state that level in their own specifications.
- Level 5Full automationAttributed to SAE
Level 5: the system drives everywhere a human could, with no human fallback.
The top of the SAE scale. The system performs the entire driving task under all conditions a human driver could manage, with no expectation that a person takes over. A steering wheel becomes optional. This level is a definition, not a description of anything shipping.
On DEPLOY's record
No autonomous vehicle on the record states this level.
- Level 4High automationAttributed to SAE
Level 4: the system drives itself, but only inside a defined operating area.
The system handles the whole driving task without expecting a human to take over, but only within conditions it was designed for, such as a mapped city, certain weather, or certain speeds. Outside that envelope it will not operate. This is where driverless robotaxi services sit.
On DEPLOY's record
- Aurora Driver (Aurora Innovation) states: “Level 4”
- Autonom Shuttle Evo (Navya) states: “SAE Level 4”
- AutoX RoboTaxi (AutoX) states: “L4 autonomous”
- Clevon 1 (Clevon) states: “Level 4”
- Didi Robotaxi (Didi Autonomous Driving) states: “Level 4”
- EZ10 (EasyMile) states: “SAE L4”
- Gatik Autonomous Drive (Gatik) states: “Level 4”
- HOLON mover (Holon) states: “L4 (Mobileye Drive)”
- Mobileye Drive (Mobileye) states: “Level 4”
- Level 3Conditional automationAttributed to SAE
Level 3: the system drives, but a human must be ready to take back control.
The system performs the full driving task under some conditions, and the person may take their attention off the road, but must resume control when the system asks. That handover requirement is what separates Level 3 from Level 4, and it is the level regulators have found hardest to approve.
On DEPLOY's record
No autonomous vehicle on the record states this level.
- Level 2Partial automationAttributed to SAE
Level 2: the car steers and controls speed, and you are still driving.
The system can control steering and braking or acceleration at the same time, but the human must stay fully engaged and monitor the road throughout. Most systems marketed with names suggesting autonomy sit here. The responsibility has not moved off the driver.
On DEPLOY's record
- PlusDrive (Plus) states: “SAE Level 2+ ADAS with scalable path to Level 4”
- Level 1Driver assistanceAttributed to SAE
Level 1: one thing is automated, either steering or speed, not both.
A single assistance feature such as adaptive cruise control or lane keeping, handling either the steering or the accelerating and braking, but not both together. The human performs everything else.
On DEPLOY's record
No autonomous vehicle on the record states this level.
- Level 0No automationAttributed to SAE
Level 0: no automation of the driving task at all.
The human does all the steering, braking and accelerating. Warning and momentary-intervention features such as blind-spot alerts or emergency braking still count as Level 0, because they do not drive the vehicle.
On DEPLOY's record
No autonomous vehicle on the record states this level.
Described as autonomous, but no level stated
11 of the 44 autonomous vehicles on the record describe their autonomy without naming an SAE level. They are listed here rather than sorted into one, with the maker's own wording quoted.
| Model | Maker | What the record states |
|---|---|---|
| Apollo RT6 | Baidu | “fully-driverless” |
| Cruise AV (Chevrolet Bolt) | Cruise | “driverless (no human safety driver)” |
| Cybercab | Tesla | “Tesla camera-only Full Self-Driving (FSD); no lidar or radar; 'unsupervised' autonomy intended” |
How we know this
The level definitions are attributed to SAE International's J3016 standard, relayed here through two independent readings of it. Which levels the vehicles on this page state is read live from each reviewed model's own specifications on the DEPLOY registry. Here are the sources behind the taxonomy.
SAE owns the standard and DEPLOY does not verify it, so every level definition is marked as attributed rather than verified. The model classifications are each maker's own stated wording, quoted rather than paraphrased, and a vehicle that states no level is listed as stating none.
Common questions
Are there 5 or 6 levels of autonomous driving?
What is the difference between Level 2 and Level 3?
Is any car Level 5 today?
What level is a robotaxi?
What level is Tesla Full Self-Driving?
Who defines the levels?
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