Tesla claims world-first autonomous car delivery

Electric car maker Tesla has carried out what it claims is the world’s first autonomous delivery of a new car.

Footage posted on social media platform X by the US automaker shows a silver 2025 Tesla Model Y apparently being driven autonomously from the Texas factory where it was made to its new owner’s premises. 

While not yet verified by any independent body, Tesla claimed in its X post that this constituted the “world’s first autonomous delivery of a car”.

Tesla said the journey took around 30 minutes and required the mid-size electric SUV to negotiate parking lots, highways and the Austin city centre, all of which – according to a graphic on the footage it supplied – was made possible by the company’s Robotaxi autonomous software.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk described the Robotaxi software as a “more advanced” version of the company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, with the autonomously delivered vehicle reverting to FSD once in customer hands. 

Robotaxi software is not yet available to Tesla vehicle owners. 

The top-selling Model Y, which was recently updated – is planned to be the first Tesla fitted with Robotaxi software available for customers in the US. 

The software enables Level 4 or Level 5 autonomous driving capability, defined as a vehicle able to drive itself in all conditions without needing a driver or even a steering wheel.

In Australia, Level 2 is the highest stage of autonomous vehicle technology currently permitted for use on public roads by consumers – although higher levels are under test – and this definition is given to cars with features including adaptive cruise control and lane keeping. 

In May 2025, Tesla showed one of its vehicles testing in Melbourne, including negotiating the Victorian capital’s infamous tram-friendly ‘hook turn’ manoeuvre, as the automaker confirmed it had begun testing its FSD system on Australia roads.

In June, Tesla began operating its commercial Robotaxi service on the streets of Texas, with 10 vehicles limited to a specific geofenced area in the state capital, Austin. 

The service costs a flat $US4.20 (A$6.43) per ride and is currently by invitation only ahead of plans for widespread expansion. 

While it revealed its Cybercab robotaxi in 2024, the June launch of the program used Model Ys fitted with the software and adding ‘safety drivers’ in the front passenger seat of each as a precaution. 

“I predict there will be millions of Teslas operating fully autonomously in the second half of next year,” Mr Musk said during the automaker’s first-quarter 2025 earnings call, which included announcing a 66 per cent year-on-year fall in revenue.

Following the kickoff of Tesla’s self-driving program in Austin, the US National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) confirmed it opened an investigation into the company’s Robotaxi fleet after reports suggested the vehicles had been behaving erratically. 

Tesla’s is not the first ‘robotaxi’ service in the US, with Waymo – part of Google subsidiary, Alphabet – operating driverless ride-sharing vehicles since 2020.

Now employing their sixth generation of autonomous driving tech, Waymo’s vehicles – Jaguar I-Pace electric SUVs – were prominent during recent protests in Los Angeles, where many were vandalised with graffiti and several set on fire. 

Meanwhile, Amazon – headed by Jeff Bezos – recently opened its first factory in Hayward, California, where it will build its s ‘Zoox’ robotaxi as a rival to both Waymo and Tesla.

Zoox plans to carry out its first passenger rides in Las Vegas, Nevada, later this year. 

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