Tesla Achieves Historic Milestone with First Fully Autonomous Vehicle Delivery
In a groundbreaking development, Tesla has successfully completed its first fully autonomous vehicle delivery from the factory directly to a customer. A recent video shared on X captures the entire journey of a Tesla Model Y leaving the company’s Austin Gigafactory, cruising along the highway, navigating through suburban neighborhoods, and finally arriving at a customer’s apartment building—all without any human intervention.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk initially announced that the first fully autonomous delivery was set for June 28th. However, he surprised many by confirming on Friday that the milestone was reached a day earlier. “There were no people in the car at all and no remote operators in control at any point. FULLY autonomous!” Musk posted on X. “To the best of our knowledge, this is the first fully autonomous drive with no people in the car or remotely operating the car on a public highway.”
This achievement marks a significant step forward for Tesla, especially given the challenges faced during the initial launch of its robotaxi service. Early deployments included safety monitors in the passenger seat equipped with a kill switch, but the vehicles quickly encountered safety issues such as crossing into oncoming traffic and abrupt braking without cause.
By demonstrating that its vehicles can operate safely on highways without a safety monitor present, Tesla showcases the advancing capabilities of its Full Self-Driving system. While Tesla continues to refine its technology, the current robotaxi operations still rely on safety monitors and remote supervision, indicating that the company is making progress toward Musk’s vision of “unsupervised” autonomous driving.
This achievement highlights Tesla’s ongoing efforts to push the boundaries of autonomous vehicle technology and move closer to fully driverless transportation. Stay tuned for more updates as Tesla continues to innovate in the realm of autonomous driving.
