[stale2002]

" Or, at best, turns it into nothing more than an Adaptive Cruise Control system"

This is literally what Teslas autopilot system is.

It is adaptive cruise control and lane assist.

They do not claim to be self driving. It is not a level 3 system. It is level 2.

The purpose of autopilot is to have both the features of lane assist and adaptive cruise control.

What's the big deal? Why is this so surprising to you? This is what it is. Go buy a car from Google if you want a self driving level 3 car.

If you don't want a level 2 system then don't buy it.