Overview

• Tesla released a 30-minute video on June 28 showing a Model Y drive itself from its Austin Gigafactory to a customer’s home with no occupants or remote operators
• The autonomous journey covered parking lots, highways and city streets over roughly 15 miles in about 30 minutes, reaching up to 72 mph according to Tesla head of AI Ashok Elluswamy
• The demonstration follows Tesla’s June 22 launch of an invite-only, geofenced robotaxi pilot in Austin that required human safety monitors in every vehicle
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has contacted Tesla for details on safety incidents reported during its early robotaxi operations
• Industry observers dispute Tesla’s claim of the first fully autonomous highway drive, noting that Waymo has been running driverless rides for employees on public highways for over a year