Elon Musk says first Tesla drove itself from factory to customer

[AUSTIN] Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said a Tesla Model Y SUV drove itself from the company’s factory near Austin to a customer’s home in the company’s latest move to showcase its push into autonomous driving. 

In a post on X, Musk announced the company made an autonomous delivery of a Tesla Model Y from factory to a customer’s home, noting the delivery was made “across town”, and included highways. Musk said the delivery did not include anyone in the car and no remote operators were in control of the car. 

While the post did not include video or images, Musk posted that a video of the event would come soon. Tesla’s head of artificial intelligence (AI) and autopilot, Ashok Elluswamy, said the vehicle reached a max speed of 72 miles per hour (116 km per hour).

The delivery was one day ahead of the date Musk had earlier set for the first autonomous delivery, Jun 28, which will be his 54th birthday. 

Tesla’s first autonomous delivery highlights Musk’s bet that AI and robotics represent the future of his electric car company. It comes days after Tesla began its long-awaited robotaxi service on Jun 22, offering a select group of influencers and investors rides in a small fleet of self-driving Model Y SUVs in a limited area of Austin.

Musk previewed both events in a post earlier this month on X, and has said the company plans to eventually have millions of robotaxis on the road in the future.

Musk is counting on eventually churning out large numbers of robotaxis and Optimus humanoid robots to underpin the electric vehicle company’s next chapter. Sales in key markets including North America and Europe remain sluggish and the company has faced a consumer backlash to Musk’s role in US President Donald Trump’s administration. Multiple executives have also left the company in recent weeks. 

The hands-free delivery is an extension of a capability Tesla touted in April, when it posted a video showing cars moving autonomously from its Texas assembly lines to logistics lots prior to shipping. It’s unclear whether autonomous deliveries will become a meaningful part of Tesla’s operations.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. BLOOMBERG