The implication of the article, and also some subsequent discussion here, was that there were remote drivers driving the cars around, and that the supposed self

The implication of the article, and also some subsequent discussion here, was that there were remote drivers driving the cars around, and that the supposed self-driving was not really happening. This is clearly not the case. When I was in Cruise cars they did all kinds of things that looked really difficult, like figuring out that a truck was stopped and double-parked and going around it, dodging cyclists that got in front of it, navigating around cars that were double parked on both sides of the street like a maze, etc. Then, they would get stumped by unusual configurations like the one I recounted. So whether they are 'at the level of driving themselves around town' or not depends on your definition. They drove around quite deftly although a bit erratically, and using sometimes very circuitous routes, but they definitely seemed to get all around town with only occasional glitches, none of which seemed at all unsafe (when I was in the car at least).