Just a few days after launching a limited robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, Tesla pulled off an additional stunt meant to show off the progress of its self-driving car software. The company let a Model Y SUV drive roughly 15 miles from Tesla’s factory to the apartment complex where the car’s new owner lives, completing what CEO Elon Musk called the first “autonomous delivery” of a customer car.
The vehicle was supposedly equipped with the same software Tesla’s robotaxi Model Ys are using in Austin, but upon delivery was downgraded to the commercially available Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software that requires drivers to pay attention and be ready to take over at any moment. No one was on board and Musk claimed no remote assistance was given to the car.
The stunt came at an auspicious time for Tesla, which is set to rele
Continue Reading on TechCrunch
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.