Tesla has achieved a major milestone by completing its first fully driverless delivery of a new Model Y SUV to a customer. On June 27, 2025, the vehicle autonomously travelled from Tesla’s Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, to a nearby apartment complex without anyone in the driver or front passenger seats.
A video shared on Tesla’s X account shows the Model Y navigating highways, residential streets, and parking areas entirely on its own. The car stopped at a red-painted curb where the customer was waiting alongside Tesla staff. Tesla has not disclosed the specific software or hardware used, nor when such fully autonomous features might be available to the public.
“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!!” Elon Musk stated in a post on X.
He added, “There were no people in the car at all and no remote operators in control at any point. FULLY autonomous!”
However, Musk’s claim of the “first fully autonomous drive” on a public highway is disputed, as Alphabet’s Waymo has been operating fully driverless robotaxi services in cities like Phoenix and Los Angeles since early 2025.
Tesla’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, confirmed the customer was randomly chosen from recent Model Y buyers in Austin and that the vehicle was identical to standard factory models. The autonomous journey reached speeds of up to 72 mph, slightly above Texas’s typical highway speed limit.
This event coincides with Tesla’s limited robotaxi pilot programme in Austin, which operates with human safety supervisors onboard and is available by invitation only. Tesla’s Full Self-Driving systems have faced regulatory scrutiny due to driving errors observed during testing, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating potential safety issues.
Despite previous ambitious promises from Musk about full autonomy and robotaxi fleets, Tesla has yet to fully realise these goals. The company also faces challenges from Musk’s controversial political statements, declining sales in Europe, and growing competition from Chinese EV makers like BYD and Nio.
Tesla is expected to release its second-quarter production and delivery figures in July 2025.