Tesla has achieved a significant milestone in autonomous driving technology, executing its first driverless delivery of a new vehicle to a customer. On June 27, a Tesla Model Y SUV autonomously navigated from the company's Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, to an apartment building in the area, marking a historic moment in automotive innovation.​

Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, took to social media platform X to celebrate the achievement, stating that the delivery was completed a day ahead of schedule. "The first fully autonomous delivery of a Tesla Model Y from factory to a customer home across town, including highways, was just completed!" Musk exclaimed, commending the efforts of Tesla's AI teams responsible for software and AI chip design.​

A video shared by the official Tesla account on X showcased the Model Y traversing public roads, including highways, with no human present in the driver's or front passenger's seat. The vehicle smoothly maneuvered through residential streets, parking lots, and finally arrived at its destination, where the customer, accompanied by Tesla employees, received the car.​

While Tesla did not disclose the specific software and hardware versions utilized during the delivery, the event signals a major step towards the potential commercialization of fully autonomous vehicle technology. Currently, Tesla's most advanced driver-assistance system, Full Self-Driving (Supervised), requires drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and remain prepared to take control at any moment. However, this delivery demonstrated a more independent level of operation.​

Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla's head of AI, revealed that the customer was randomly selected from those who ordered a Model Y in the Austin area. He also emphasized that the delivered vehicle was identical to any other Model Y produced in the factory, indicating that the autonomous capabilities could potentially be replicated across the production line.​

(Cover via VCG)