Tesla shows off its first fully autonomous delivery to convince us its self-driving cars work well

Tesla has successfully delivered a car autonomously using its robotaxi technology, with a Model Y traveling from its Gigafactory Texas in Austin to a customer's home, a roughly 30-minute journey. The delivery was accomplished without a safety monitor or anyone behind the wheel, and CEO Elon Musk confirmed that there were no remote operators in control at any point. The trip involved navigating through parking lots, highways, and city streets without incident. This achievement comes after Tesla's rollout of its robotaxi service in Austin, which has experienced some hiccups, including a Model Y struggling to make a left turn and braking hard when encountering police cars with their lights on. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has taken notice of these incidents and has reached out to Tesla for more information. Despite these issues, Tesla's autonomous delivery is a significant milestone, although it's not the first time a fully autonomous car has used the highway, as Waymo has been doing so since earlier this year. Tesla's Full Self-Driving software has also been demonstrated to fail in certain scenarios, such as stopping for school bus flashing lights and stop signs, as well as for kid-sized mannequins darting into the road. The company's robotaxi service is still in its pilot program phase and has a lot to prove before it can be considered safe and reliable. Musk had promised that the first Tesla to drive itself from the factory to a customer's house would be on June 28, which has now been achieved. Overall, Tesla's autonomous delivery is an impressive feat, but it's not without its challenges and concerns.