Latest news with #Autopilot
CNBC
6 hours ago
- Automotive
- CNBC
Tesla says it made its first driverless delivery of a new car to a customer
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the automaker completed its first driverless delivery of a new car to a customer, routing a Model Y SUV from the company's Austin, Texas, Gigafactory to an apartment building in the area on June 27. The Tesla account on social network X, which is also owned by Musk, shared a video overnight showing the Model Y traversing public roads in Austin, including highways, with no human in the driver's seat or front passenger seat of the car. Tesla did not say which version of its software and hardware had been installed and used in the car shown in the clip — or if and when that technology would be commercially available to its customers. A Model Y owners' manual, available on the Tesla website, says that in order to use Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) option — which is the company's most advanced, partially automated driving system available today — owners must keep their hands on the wheel, and remain ready to take over steering or braking at any time. The vehicle in Tesla's video was shown operating without a driver on the highway, passing through residential streets and around parking lots before arriving and stopping for a handoff to a customer. The buyer was waiting by the curb at an apartment building alongside Tesla employees, some sporting logo-emblazoned shirts. (The curb was painted red, indicating it is a no-stop fire lane.) In 2016, Tesla shared an Autopilot video — known as the "Paint It Black" video — that had been staged in a manner which exaggerated its cars self-driving capabilities, depositions later revealed. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating Tesla over possible safety defects in their FSD systems, and recently sought more information from the company about its robotaxi debut after its cars were seen violating some traffic rules. In posts on X on Friday, Musk wrote: "The first fully autonomous delivery of a Tesla Model Y from factory to a customer home across town, including highways, was just completed a day ahead of schedule!! Congratulations to the @Tesla_AI teams, both software & AI chip design!" He also wrote, "There were no people in the car at all and no remote operators in control at any point. FULLY autonomous! 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." Musk's claim about the "first fully autonomous drive" on a public highway was not accurate. Alphabet-owned Waymo, which is already operating commercial robotaxi services across multiple U.S. cities, has been offering employees fully autonomous rides on Phoenix freeways since 2024, and has since expanded those rides to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Head of AI at Tesla, Ashok Elluswamy, said in posts on X that the automaker "literally chose a random customer who ordered a Model Y in the Austin area" to participate. He also said the vehicle delivered is "exactly the same as every Model Y produced in the Tesla factory." Elluswamy also noted in a post on X that the Model Y in the driverless delivery traveled at a "max speed of 72 mph." Most highways in Texas have a maximum speed limit of 70 miles per hour, according to the Texas Department of Transportation website. Separately, Tesla began a robotaxi pilot program in Austin last weekend involving 10 to 20 of its Model Y SUVs equipped with technology, about which Tesla has revealed little to the public. The Tesla robotaxi service is available only to select, invited riders who have mostly been influencers and analysts, many of whom generate income by posting Tesla-fan content on platforms like X and YouTube. The Tesla robotaxi vehicles run with a human safety supervisor on board in the front passenger seat, and are remotely supervised by employees in an operations center. Since 2016, Musk has been promising that Tesla would soon be able to turn all of its existing EVs into fully autonomous vehicles with a simple, over-the-air software update. In his Master Plan, Part Deux, he outlined a future where every Tesla owner would be able to add their car to a "Tesla shared fleet just by tapping a button on the Tesla phone app," enabling their car to generate income for them while they sleep. In 2019, Musk said Tesla would have 1 million robotaxis on the road by 2020 — a claim that helped him raise $2 billion at the time from institutional investors. While Tesla has not fulfilled those promises thus far, the driverless delivery in Texas this week has elicited excitement among believers in Musk and his vision. Meanwhile, Tesla is battling a brand backlash in response to the CEO's often incendiary political rhetoric, his endorsements of Germany's far-right extremist party AfD, and his work for the Trump administration. Tesla sales have declined year-over-year in key markets, especially throughout Europe, in the first five months of 2025 partly as a result of that backlash. The company is also facing increased competition from EV makers, particularly Chinese brands such as BYD, Nio and Xiaomi, offering more affordable and newer models. Tesla is expected to disclose its second-quarter vehicle production and delivery numbers on July 2.
Time of India
20 hours ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Tesla hires former Cruise executive as AI director
Tesla has hired former Cruise executive, Henry Kuang , as the automaker's AI director, according to a report by news website Electrek on Thursday, as the company looks to expand robotaxi operations in the United States. Kuang was the head of autonomy at General Motors' self-driving unit, Cruise, till last year, according to his LinkedIn profile. His appointment comes at a time when Tesla has seen a series of high-profile departures in the past year, including the resignation of two senior executives on Thursday. Tesla did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment, while Kuang could not be reached. While Kuang's role at Tesla is not clear, Ashok Elluswamy, who was the first engineer hired for Tesla's Autopilot team in 2014, has largely been leading the company's self-driving initiatives. Omead Afshar, a top Tesla executive and longtime Elon Musk confidant, left the electric-vehicle maker along with North America HR Director Jenna Ferrua, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Tesla is going through sweeping company-wide restructuring, during which the electric vehicle maker has laid off thousands of employees and shifted its strategic focus toward AI-driven self-driving technology and robotics. The company rolled out a small batch of its Model Y robotaxis in Austin, Texas on June 22, ferrying paying passengers in a small area of the city and CEO Elon Musk has pledged to expand into several U.S. cities by next year. Musk said last month Tesla will deliver its first car autonomously from factory to customer in June. General Motors said earlier this year that it had completed the full acquisition of its Cruise business to focus on developing the autonomous technology for personal vehicles, not robotaxis.
CTV News
a day ago
- Automotive
- CTV News
Tesla fails to end Florida lawsuit over fatal Model S crash
New York — Tesla failed to persuade a federal judge to end a lawsuit over the death of a woman struck after an Autopilot-equipped Model S ran off the road in Key Largo, Florida, paving the way for a possible trial next month. U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom in Miami said the estate of Naibel Benavides Leon, and her former boyfriend Dillon Angulo, may pursue design defect and failure to warn claims against billionaire Elon Musk's automaker, and seek punitive damages. A July 14 trial is scheduled. Lawyers for Tesla and the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Tesla, based in Austin, Texas, has long faced questions about the safety of its self-driving technology. It has said its features are meant for 'fully attentive' drivers holding the steering wheel, and the features do not make its vehicles autonomous. The lawsuit concerned an April 25, 2019 incident where George McGee drove his 2019 Model S at about 62 miles an hour through an intersection into the victims' parked Chevrolet Tahoe, which they were standing beside on a shoulder. McGee had reached down to pick up a cellphone he dropped on his car's floorboard, and allegedly received no alerts as he ran a stop sign and stop light before hitting the SUV, which struck the victims. Benavides Leon was allegedly thrown 75 feet to her death, while Angulo suffered serious injuries. In a 98-page decision, Bloom said the plaintiffs offered sufficient evidence that Autopilot defects were a 'substantial factor' in their injuries. While McGee, who is not a defendant, conceded he was not driving safely, that didn't automatically make him solely responsible, 'particularly given McGee's testimony that he expected Autopilot to avoid the collision,' the judge wrote. Bloom said the failure to warn claim survived in part because Autopilot's risks might be hard to extract from the owner's manual on Model S touchscreens. The judge also dismissed manufacturing defect and negligent misrepresentation claims. The case is Benavides v Tesla Inc., U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, No. 21-21940. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, Editing by William Maclean)
Reuters
a day ago
- Automotive
- Reuters
Tesla fails to end Florida lawsuit over fatal Model S crash
June 27 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab failed to persuade a federal judge to end a lawsuit over the death of a woman struck after an Autopilot-equipped Model S ran off the road in Key Largo, Florida, paving the way for a possible trial next month. U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom in Miami said the estate of Naibel Benavides Leon, and her former boyfriend Dillon Angulo, may pursue design defect and failure to warn claims against billionaire Elon Musk's automaker, and seek punitive damages. A July 14 trial is scheduled. Lawyers for Tesla and the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Tesla, based in Austin, Texas, has long faced questions about the safety of its self-driving technology. It has said its features are meant for "fully attentive" drivers, opens new tab holding the steering wheel, and the features do not make its vehicles autonomous. The lawsuit concerned an April 25, 2019 incident where George McGee drove his 2019 Model S at about 62 miles an hour through an intersection into the victims' parked Chevrolet Tahoe, which they were standing beside on a shoulder. McGee had reached down to pick up a cellphone he dropped on his car's floorboard, and allegedly received no alerts as he ran a stop sign and stop light before hitting the SUV, which struck the victims. Benavides Leon was allegedly thrown 75 feet to her death, while Angulo suffered serious injuries. In a 98-page decision, Bloom said the plaintiffs offered sufficient evidence that Autopilot defects were a "substantial factor" in their injuries. While McGee, who is not a defendant, conceded he was not driving safely, that didn't automatically make him solely responsible, "particularly given McGee's testimony that he expected Autopilot to avoid the collision," the judge wrote. Bloom said the failure to warn claim survived in part because Autopilot's risks might be hard to extract from the owner's manual on Model S touchscreens. The judge also dismissed manufacturing defect and negligent misrepresentation claims. The case is Benavides v Tesla Inc., U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, No. 21-21940.
Time of India
a day ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Tesla hires former Cruise executive as AI director: Report
Tesla has hired former Cruise executive, Henry Kuang , as the automaker's AI director, according to a report by news website Electrek on Thursday, as the company looks to expand robotaxi operations in the United was the head of autonomy at General Motors' self-driving unit, Cruise, till last year, according to his LinkedIn appointment comes at a time when Tesla has seen a series of high-profile departures in the past year, including the resignation of two senior executives on did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment, while Kuang could not be Kuang's role at Tesla is not clear, Ashok Elluswamy, who was the first engineer hired for Tesla's Autopilot team in 2014, has largely been leading the company's self-driving Afshar, a top Tesla executive and longtime Elon Musk confidant, left the electric-vehicle maker along with North America HR Director Jenna Ferrua, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on is going through sweeping company-wide restructuring, during which the electric vehicle maker has laid off thousands of employees and shifted its strategic focus toward AI-driven self-driving technology and company rolled out a small batch of its Model Y robotaxis in Austin, Texas on June 22, ferrying paying passengers in a small area of the city and CEO Elon Musk has pledged to expand into several U.S. cities by next said last month Tesla will deliver its first car autonomously from factory to customer in Motors said earlier this year that it had completed the full acquisition of its Cruise business to focus on developing the autonomous technology for personal vehicles, not robotaxis.
