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Why Ford BlueCruise Passing the 10 Million Miles Mark Means Nothing for Tesla

Tesla was under a lot of flak because of its Full Self-Driving beta-testing program. Nevertheless, Ford wants to copy it, even though CEO Jim Farley constantly mocks Tesla. In a recent tweet, Ford’s CEO boasted about BlueCruise advances, with 66,500 drivers using the assistance system and more than 10.6 million hands-free miles driven.
Ford BlueCruise has passed the 10-million-mile mark 6 photos
Photo: Ford
Ford BlueCruise driver assistance systemFord BlueCruise driver assistance systemFord BlueCruise driver assistance systemFord BlueCruise driver assistance systemFord BlueCruise driver assistance system
BlueCruise is Ford’s take on the Tesla Autopilot, aiming to offer drivers relief in those rush-hour traffic jams. The system was praised by U.S. regulators for keeping drivers in check better than Tesla’s counterpart, which made some believe that BlueCruise is actually better. Even though there are caveats, Ford’s BlueCruise milestone is actually a big deal, bringing automated driving closer to becoming a reality.

According to Jim Farley, Ford customers use the system to “drive” hands-free, mostly between Dallas and Houston, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, and Cape Canaveral and Fort Lauderdale. These routes are predominantly highway connections, which shows that BlueCruise still has a long way to go before being allowed to drive inside cities. Indeed, BlueCruise can only be activated on vetted sections of highways, with about 130,000 miles of North American roads included in the so-called “Hands-Free Blue Zones.”

As Ford looks to bring more users into the BlueCruise bandwagon, the Blue Oval uses the power of software updates to offer hands-free driving to more vehicles. Unfortunately, Ford can only offer BlueCruise functionality to users who opted for Ford’s Co-Pilot 360 Active 2.0 Prep Package when they ordered their car. This vastly restricts the fleet of compatible vehicles.

Unlike Ford, Tesla offers its Autopilot hardware on all vehicles. Many of those buying a Tesla also opt for the more advanced Full Self-Driving capability, worth $12,000. Tesla FSD software allows hands-free driving on all roads, even those unmarked on a map. According to Tesla data, around 100,000 FSD beta-testers amassed more than 35 million miles driven. Even though the numbers seem comparable, we should consider the different capabilities of the two systems.

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About the author: Cristian Agatie
Cristian Agatie profile photo

After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions.
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