Tesla says it made its first driverless delivery of a new car to a customer

In a groundbreaking development, Tesla has announced its inaugural driverless delivery of a new vehicle directly to a customer. This significant event occurred on June 27, when a Model Y SUV was autonomously transported from Tesla's Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, to a nearby apartment complex. Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, took to social media platform X to share a video showcasing the Model Y navigating public roads, including highways, without any human presence in the driver's seat or front passenger seat. However, Tesla has not disclosed the specific version of the software and hardware utilized for this delivery, nor has it indicated when such technology might be made available to the public. According to the Model Y owner's manual found on Tesla's website, users must keep their hands on the steering wheel and be prepared to take control at any moment while using the company’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) feature, which is its most advanced semi-autonomous driving system currently available. The video released by Tesla depicted the vehicle operating autonomously on highways and navigating through residential streets, eventually stopping for the customer, who was waiting curbside alongside Tesla staff. Despite the excitement surrounding this delivery, Musk's assertion that this was the 'first fully autonomous drive' on public highways has come under scrutiny. Companies like Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, have already been providing fully autonomous rides in cities like Phoenix and have expanded their services to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s head of AI, clarified that the customer chosen for this delivery was randomly selected from those who ordered a Model Y in the Austin area. He confirmed that the vehicle was identical to every other Model Y produced at the factory and reached a maximum speed of 72 mph, just above the typical Texas highway speed limit of 70 mph. In addition to this milestone, Tesla has recently initiated a robotaxi pilot program in Austin, involving a select number of Model Y SUVs equipped with advanced technology. This service is currently limited to a small group of invited riders, including influencers and analysts who frequently create content related to Tesla. Musk has long promised that all Tesla vehicles would soon be capable of full autonomy through software updates. However, while the recent driverless delivery has generated excitement among Tesla enthusiasts, the company is also facing challenges, including a decline in sales in key markets and rising competition from other electric vehicle manufacturers, particularly from China. Tesla is expected to reveal its production and delivery figures for the second quarter on July 2.