[ceejayoz]

There's the "a pilot would know this, and have been heavily trained in its limitations and usage" definition, and there's the layperson understanding of things.

People think autopilots do a lot more than they actually do, which is part of the problem with Tesla's naming. They probably should've called it "assisted cruise" or "driver assist" or something, but that's less sexy on the marketing side.

It doesn't help that their marketing pages for Autopilot have done a clever job of blurring the line between what's currently implemented and what's aspirational. https://www.tesla.com/autopilot has a giant header titled "Full Self-Driving Capability". You have to read more closely to see the big caveats.

[mnd999]

Autopilots on aircraft do a lot, including automatic landing where necessary (fog etc.). What they don’t do, is control the plane on the ground. There is no autopilot on the taxiway and that is what Tesla’s are trying to do.

[Gwypaas]

No point comparing aircraft taxing to cars. The taxiway is a very well defined environment with the tower controlling all movements.

The only reason it isn't automated is because there's no monetary gain in doing so, the people you are paying is still sitting around for the same amount of time.

[FireBeyond]

And the worst taxiways are still better maintained|lit|painted than even most of the best roads.