GM Amps Up Tesla Challenge as All Cadillacs Get Hands-Free Drive

(Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. is doubling down on the driver-assistance system it’s marketed against Tesla Inc.’s Autopilot by making it available across its Cadillac brand’s lineup.

The Super Cruise system that’s been offered only on the CT6 sedan will extend to all Cadillacs starting in 2020, Mark Reuss, GM’s executive vice president of global product development said at an industry conference Wednesday. It’ll be made available to other GM brands after that.

Super Cruise allows drivers to coast in the same lane on the highway hands-free. The system monitors the driver’s eye movements and issues audible and visual warnings if he or she isn’t looking at the road. If the driver is distracted for too long, the system will stop the car. This differs from Tesla’s Autopilot, which only tracks whether a driver is touching the steering wheel.

GM is “committed to ushering in a new era of personal transportation, and technologies like these will enable it,” Reuss said in a statement.

GM is taking a more conservative approach than Tesla, which has raced to get more cars on the road with its driver-assistance technology. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk announced plans during the electric-car maker’s annual meeting Tuesday to offer free trials of Autopilot and said that a new version of the system is rolling out this week.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Welch in Southfield at dwelch12@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net, Jamie Butters

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