Throwing a Tesla Model S, complete with the latest 7.0 software, into Auto Park is thrilling precisely because of the way it seems to toe the line of autonomous driving.

When a car has the ability to change lanes for you, the temptation to go hands-free is strong, even if the car company advises you not to. With Australian states yet to comprehensively legislate and allow fully-automated cars on the road beyond preliminary trials, Tesla's latest Autopilot features, including Auto Lane Change, Auto Park and Autosteer, feel as if they stray close to the legal line.

See also: Tesla stock plummets after Consumer Reports backpedals on Model S rating

So, is it all above board? Tesla says yes: "The Autopilot technology passes all regulations with the outline to all customers that hands are to remain on the steering wheel at all times," a Tesla spokesperson told Mashable Australia.

Ultimately, the legality of the automated features are determined by who is in control of the vehicle — for now, that still needs to be a human driver. "I think it's perfectly legal, because the responsibility still lies with the driver," Vinayak Dixit, deputy director of the Research Centre for Integrated Transport Innovation at the University of New South Wales, told Mashable Australia. "From the legal perspective, it's fully compliant.

"The legal system allows for this current level of automation."

Charles Karl, national technical leader at the transport advisory group, the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB), agreed. He told Mashable Australia the vehicles can be considered a level two system of automation, known as partial automation, which is legal in Australian states. The ARRB follows the automation classification system of SAE International, which has five levels of automation, ranging up from no automation to full automation.

"The best way to describe level two is your hands need to be on the wheel, but the car can still [perform some partial automated functions]," he said. "In level three, you can read or watch a video. In level four, you can sleep ... level five is perhaps where there is no steering wheel at all."

Many of the vehicles that will come to Australia next year from companies such as Ford, KIA or Hyundai will also have level two functionality, he explained. "In other cars, you have adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assist, but the car will not do a lane change," he said. "I would call the Tesla functionality 'level two plus'."

A spokesperson for the regulatory body that governs New South Wales roads, Transport for NSW, did not comment directly on Tesla's "level two plus" Autopilot system, but told Mashable Australia driverless cars would need to be investigated before they enter the market.

In Victoria, the features are acceptable if the driver keeps their hands on the wheel. "VicRoads has considered a range of the vehicle automation features on new vehicles such as the Tesla 'autopilot'," a spokesperson told Mashable Australia. "Provided the driver sets the system to operate in a semi-automated mode, they remain classified as a driver under the road rules and can use the vehicle normally."

For now, even if fully automated cars comply with Australian vehicle standards, current road rules require drivers to always be in control of their vehicles. Tesla founder Elon Musk was careful to emphasise the new features are still in beta at the launch event, and that drivers must keep their hands on the wheel — for now — and that may be all the cover the company needs.

As automated car technology improves in the coming years, Dixit predicts that Australian state law will have to contend with questions of what it really mean to drive a car or to be a driver. "Some people have a strict interpretation — you need to have your hands on the wheel — or that you just need to be in control," he said. "What does control mean? This is open to different interpretation from state to state."

He also suggested the most significant battles would be fought over culpability after any accident. "It's not about hands, it's about who is liable."

Ultimately, hands-free may not mean law suit-free, for either the drivers or the manufacturers.