San Francisco, Mar 20 (IANS): Elon Musk-owned electric vehicle company Tesla was recently named the "most-trusted" brand in the pursuit of fully-autonomous vehicles, according to a new study.

The study surveyed consumer perception regarding fully-autonomous vehicle technology, reports Teslarati.

Fifty-six total automotive brands were options for consumers to pick in the study, a release from AutoPacific, who performed the study, said.

Tesla topped the list, earning 32 per cent of the votes, beating out Toyota with 19 per cent and BMW with 18 per cent.

"With 32 per cent of consumers, Tesla claims the crown for being the most trusted brand for developing safe and reliable fully-autonomous vehicles," the study said.

"This likely can be credited to much more 'buzz' surrounding the automaker's pricey and controversial Full-Self Driving driver assistance tech in which current Tesla owners are able to sign up as volunteers and help demo the Level 2 semi-autonomous hands-free capability for Tesla's own R&D efforts," it added.

Tesla's Full Self-Driving suite is available to anyone who purchases a vehicle from the automaker and wishes to shell out the additional $12,000.

It is not a fully autonomous system and requires driver attention at all times.

Tesla does have a Beta programme for the Full Self-Driving suite, which qualifies drivers based on a Safety Score that is calculated based on driver behaviours.

The Beta fleet has over 60,000 users, and Musk stated it will be released in Canada sometime soon.