Latest news with #autonomous
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Elon Musk's early birthday present to himself—the first Tesla just drove itself from its factory straight to the customer
In its second milestone in a week, Tesla arranged for a Model Y crossover to drive itself from its Texas factory to a customer in downtown Austin some 30 minutes away. It follows the successful launch of its robotaxi service this past Sunday. City officials, however, told Fortune they had no choice in the matter: 'the City does not have the authority to regulate these vehicles.' Tesla celebrated a historic first on Friday when a new Model Y left the factory in Austin and—without anyone in the vehicle—drove itself to a waiting customer a half-hour away. Already the second milestone this week after the commercial deployment of his robotaxi service, it marks an early birthday present for CEO Elon Musk. The entrepreneur had promised it to Tesla supporters for June 28, which is coincidentally when he turns 54 years old. '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,' Musk posted on Friday. 'There were no people in the car at all and no remote operators in control at any point. FULLY autonomous.' Since this is completely unsupervised full-self driving (FSD) in its first-ever practical application for the brand, Tesla uploaded a video as proof. It documents from various angles the roughly 30-minute drive from the Austin factory to 1515 S. Lamar Blvd. downtown, where its new owner took possession. Whether this delivery is just a one-off test or part of a broader plan to revamp distribution remains unclear. While it might in theory save on at least part of the $1,390 destination fee Tesla charges, it risks scratching or denting the vehicle in transit—or even just arriving at the customer dirty, looking like it had just been through a rainstorm. Additionally, the Model Y's range maxes out at an official 357 miles with real world tests indicating a lower range. Unless it could drive from one Tesla service center to the next, so that an employee could recharge it, the range would limit it to a radius inside Texas. Lastly, regulations on the ground could make it outright illegal as state governments currently determine under what conditions autonomous vehicles, if at all, can drive on their roads. In the case of Austin, for example, city officials told Fortune they had no say in what Musk's company did. 'Tesla made the City aware of their intent to deliver a fully autonomous vehicle,' a spokesman for the Texas state capital said. 'While the City does not have the authority to regulate these vehicles, we will continue to work with the company to provide feedback if public safety issues arise.' The autonomous delivery also elicited skepticism as to whether Tesla might be misleading people into believing the technology is more robust than it really is. Some pointed to the fact the video was not livestreamed, but rather uploaded later. In addition, the robotaxi service that began operation in Austin on Sunday still only operates during certain hours, does not drive to the airport, and features a safety monitor in the front passenger seat at all times. Moreover, the timing is advantageous, as Musk has been attempting to shift investor focus towards the rollout of his robotaxi technology and away from its struggling core business of selling EVs. This coming week, Tesla is expected to publish second-quarter global production and delivery figures that show a 14% decline in deliveries to 383,000 vehicles, according to the median estimate polled by the company's investor relations team. While a few skeptics are bound to remain mistrustful no matter what, the suspicion is rooted in part in experience. Nearly nine years ago, Tesla posted a similar demonstration when it released the 'Paint It Black' video. It claimed that a vehicle was driving entirely on its own and the human behind the wheel was not even there to monitor for safety. 'The person in the driver's seat is only there for legal reasons,' it stated in the video posted in October 2016. 'He is not doing anything. The car is driving itself.' Tesla's AI director Ashok Elluswamy later testified in a sworn deposition the footage was not meant to be an accurate representation of the technology. Both the video and the blog post have since been expunged entirely from Tesla's site, but thanks to YouTube and web archives they are still viewable. There was another, more recent example, as well. In October 2024, Musk showcased prototype robots interacting with human guests at an event without telling anyone they were tele-operated remotely by humans. Tesla didn't respond to a request for comment from Fortune. But Elluswamy, who has risen the ranks at Tesla since working on the 2016 video, denied there was any trickery with the self-driving delivery video on Friday. 'Literally chose a random customer who ordered a Model Y in the Austin area. Vehicle is exactly the same as every Model Y produced in the Tesla factory,' he replied to a question on X. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Gizmodo
12 hours ago
- Automotive
- Gizmodo
Tesla's Viral ‘Autonomous' Car Delivery Video Is Splitting the Internet
Elon Musk loves a show. Tesla's marketing machine thrives on spectacle, and on June 27, the company delivered another bold display: a 30-minute video purporting to show the first-ever fully autonomous delivery of a Tesla vehicle, no driver, no remote control. '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!!' Musk posted on X. In a follow-up, the billionaire CEO escalated the hype: 'There were no people in the car at all and no remote operators in control at any point. FULLY autonomous!' He added: '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.' 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. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 27, 2025 Together, the tweets and accompanying videos amassed nearly 15 million views. Tesla first posted a three-minute timelapse teaser, followed by the full 30-minute video on June 28. In it, a Model Y is seen navigating city streets, highway interchanges, and intersections, from Tesla's Gigafactory in Austin to the home of the new owner. The car stops at signs, yields at red lights, and maneuvers through real traffic, all without a human inside. The delivery ends with the new owner visibly excited as the Model Y rolls up, by itself, to his driveway. Come hang out with us & Model Y for 30 mins Full drive in 1x speed below — Tesla (@Tesla) June 28, 2025But online, the reaction wasn't unanimous awe. While Tesla fans praised the video as historic, many users on X, the platform Musk also owns, pushed back hard. 'Waymo has claimed fully autonomous drives on highways before,' one user wrote, linking to a January post from the Google-owned self-driving company. Waymo has quietly offered fully autonomous highway service to employees in select cities since earlier this year. Waymo has claimed fully autonomous drives on highways beforehttps:// — Jack Geldhart (@jackgeldhart) June 27, 2025Others mocked the presentation as a PR stunt. 'Stunning! So they've just illustrated what Robotaxi will be doing across the USA in 2026. Magnificent marketing, Tesla team!' one user quipped, pointing out that Tesla's robotaxi pilot launched days earlier in Austin, using only a dozen vehicles and a human 'supervisor' in the front seat. In contrast, Waymo and Cruise have offered public rides with no humans in the driver's seat for months. Some users even asked Grok, X's built-in chatbot, to analyze the vehicle's level of autonomy. '@grok which level of autonomous driving is that out of how many levels?' asked one user, referring to the industry-standard SAE scale, which ranks self-driving capabilities from Level 0 (no automation) to Level 5 (fully autonomous in all conditions, no human input needed). @grok which level of autonomous driving is that out of how many levels? — P. I. (@pi1_618) June 28, 2025Still others captured the polarization that defines Tesla discourse online. 'This one's for the true fans! And for the most determined haters! 😂,' someone posted, capturing the tribal divide between Musk loyalists and skeptics. This one's for the true fans! And for the most determined haterz!😂 — 𝕋𝕒𝕧𝕚 (@tavi_chocochip) June 28, 2025Tesla's status as one of the world's most polarizing tech companies is fully on display here. Enthusiasts hailed the video as the start of a new chapter in transportation. Detractors pointed to Musk's long history of broken promises around autonomy, a timeline that includes failed targets for robotaxi rollouts as far back as 2019. To be clear: Tesla has made real progress with its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, a system that uses cameras, sensors, and neural networks to train its vehicles to respond like a human driver. But the system is still classified as Level 2 autonomy, meaning it requires driver supervision and isn't legally recognized as fully autonomous. And that's the rub: Musk's latest claim is exaggerated at best. Waymo, Cruise, and several Chinese companies have conducted similar demos. Some, like Waymo, are already running driverless vehicles in complex environments like downtown San Francisco. What Tesla pulled off here is impressive. But whether it represents a breakthrough or a carefully engineered stunt remains to be seen. The real question now: can Tesla do this again tomorrow? And the day after that? At rush hour? In rain? Without rerunning the same pre-tested route? Until those questions are answered, the skepticism will only grow.
The Verge
13 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Verge
Tesla says it delivered its first car autonomously from factory to customer
This might be a bigger deal than the robotaxis. Tesla said it completed its first fully autonomous vehicle delivery from factory to customer. A video posted on X shows the vehicle — a Tesla Model Y — leaving the company's Austin Gigafactory, driving on the highway, passing through suburban sprawl and residential neighborhoods, before arriving at a customer's apartment building. Tesla CEO Elon Musk had promised the first fully autonomous delivery would take place June 28th. But on Friday he announced that the milestone had been achieved a day early. 'There were no people in the car at all and no remote operators in control at any point. FULLY autonomous!' Musk wrote 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.' That last part isn't accurate. Waymo has been operating fully driverless vehicles with passengers on the highway for over a year. The vehicles, which are driving on freeways in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, are only available to employees of the company, with the goal to open them up to the public at a later date. But Tesla's achievement is still notable, especially when you consider the rocky rollout of the company's robotaxi service. The robotaxis launched with safety monitors in the passenger seat with access to a kill switch, and within a few days the vehicles were recorded committing several safety lapses, including driving over the double-yellow line into the opposite lane of traffic and hard braking in the middle of the road for no apparent reason. By proving it can operate fully autonomous vehicles on highways without a safety monitor present in the vehicle, Tesla is able to demonstrate that its Full Self-Driving system is getting closer to Musk's promise of 'unsupervised' driving. The robotaxis aren't quite there yet, still requiring safety monitors and remote supervisors. That leaves Tesla in limbo between confidence that its technology can handle the driving without anyone in the vehicle, but less confident when there's a human being riding inside.
Gizmodo
14 hours ago
- Automotive
- Gizmodo
Decoding Tesla's New 'Fully Autonomous' Car Video—and What It Isn't Telling You
Elon Musk's Tesla has dropped a 30-minute video designed to electrify fans and stir debate. Posted on June 28, the clip shows what Musk claims is a historic milestone: the first Tesla Model Y to drive itself from factory to customer home, without a person inside, and without remote operation. '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!!' Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter) on June 27. The Model Y, the world's best-selling vehicle, navigates parking lots, highways, intersections, and city streets, following traffic signals and stopping for pedestrians. The destination? A very happy owner's home about 30 minutes away from Tesla's Austin Gigafactory. Come hang out with us & Model Y for 30 mins Full drive in 1x speed below — Tesla (@Tesla) June 28, 2025Musk didn't hold back: 'There were no people in the car at all and no remote operators in control at any point. FULLY autonomous!' He continued: '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.' 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. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 27, 2025 Fans on X were ecstatic. 'Thank you for changing the world and how we function' wrote one. Thank you for changing the world and how we function — truly phenomenal to witness history being made. Just curious: if Tesla now has the tech where a car can drive itself fully autonomously from factory to a customer's home across the city (even on highways!), could you help us… — AIAgent (@ai_voiceagent) June 27, 2025'Fantastic to see this happening,' said another. Fantastic to see this happening and just shy of the 5th anniversary of the start of construction of Giga Texas! Historic! — Joe Tegtmeyer 🚀 🤠🛸😎 (@JoeTegtmeyer) June 27, 2025It's the kind of video that makes you believe the future has finally arrived. But this is Elon Musk and Tesla we're talking about—a company with a long history of over-promising and under-delivering on self-driving technology. To understand what's really going on, you need to understand the high-stakes, multi-billion-dollar race to build a truly autonomous car. At the heart of the self-driving race are two fundamentally different philosophies. On one side, you have Tesla. Its 'Full Self-Driving' (FSD) system relies almost exclusively on cameras and AI. The approach, known as 'Tesla Vision,' argues that if humans can drive with just two eyes, a car should be able to do the same with eight cameras providing a 360-degree view. The car's computer 'sees' the world and makes decisions based on an immense amount of video data it has been trained on. It's a visually impressive and lower-cost approach, as it avoids expensive hardware. On the other side, you have companies like Waymo (owned by Google's parent company, Alphabet). Waymo's system also uses cameras and radar, but its key sensor is LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). LiDAR units spin around, shooting out millions of laser beams per second to create a hyper-accurate, real-time 3D map of the car's surroundings. This gives the car a superhuman ability to 'see' distances, shapes, and objects with precise detail, day or night. It's more expensive but is widely considered by many in the industry to be a more robust and redundant system. The stakes are colossal: the company that cracks true, Level 5 autonomy—where a car can drive itself anywhere, anytime, without any human intervention—will not just dominate the auto industry, but will also revolutionize logistics, transportation, and urban life. With that background, let's look at Tesla's video again. The Model Y impressively handles various real-world scenarios. But Musk's claims of a historic first are, characteristically, exaggerated. A few days ago, on June 22, Tesla launched a very limited version of its robotaxi service in Austin. Not only did it involve a small number of cars and hand-picked customers, but every vehicle had a human supervisor in the passenger seat and was restricted to a 'geofenced' (geographically limited) area. Furthermore, Musk's claim that this is the 'first fully autonomous drive with no people in the car… on a public highway' is demonstrably false. Waymo already offers driverless rides that include highway travel to its employees in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. While not yet available to the public, the capability has been operational for some time. The key difference is that Waymo has spent years collecting data and validating its safety in these areas with its LiDAR-equipped fleet, while Tesla seems to be rushing to create a public perception of leadership. This Tesla video is a PR win. But given Musk's track record, a healthy dose of skepticism is warranted. It's highly probable this specific 30-minute route was meticulously mapped and tested by Tesla under ideal conditions to ensure a flawless performance for the video. The real test of autonomy isn't whether a car can complete one perfect, pre-planned trip; it's whether it can handle thousands of unpredictable trips, safely, over millions of miles. The most telling question remains: If Tesla's system is truly 'fully autonomous' as claimed in this video, why do its commercial robotaxis still require a human supervisor? Musk is a brilliant salesman, and this video is his latest, most compelling ad. It sells a vision of the future that is tantalizingly close. But as we've seen time and again, with Tesla, the gap between a promotional video and everyday reality can be vast. Until these cars are navigating countless cities without a human safety net, this 'historic' first is little more than a brilliant, but likely brittle, piece of marketing.
CNA
a day ago
- Automotive
- CNA
Tesla completes first fully autonomous Model Y delivery ahead of schedule
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Friday that the first fully autonomous delivery of Model Y from the factory to a customer's home across town was completed a day ahead of schedule.
