Now Elon wants to make an age-old motor sector job redundant: Musk launches bonkers car sale feature
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Elon Musk’s and his electric vehicle brand Tesla are plotting to put a lot of motor industry workers out of a job by debuting an all new sales feature.
Tesla has completed the world’s first autonomous car delivery – using its self-driving technology to complete the maiden hands-off delivery to a customer.
Tesla has released a video showing a Model Y steering itself from the Gigafactory in Texas to the new owner’s home – and of course Musk took to X to post about the AI-engineered development that could make delivery drivers redundant.
'To the best of our knowledge, this is the first fully autonomous drive with no people in the car or remotely operating the car on a public highway,’ Musk wrote on the social media platform he owns.
Boasting that the personless delivery was ‘completed a day ahead of schedule’, Musk congratulated the ‘Tesla AI teams, both software and AI chop design’ - seemingly confirming the need for delivery drivers has been entirely removed from the car buying process.
We’ve quickly become accustomed to an era of car buying where everything can be done online, with no need to step into a dealership, and the car is delivered to your door. But this Tesla world first marks a moment of completely faceless new car deliver...
A new Model Y buyer in Texas became the first person to take delivery of their new car that drove itself to the owner's house
A full clip was uploaded to YouTube where the electric crossover used its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software.
No human driver or remote operator was involved.
Other than Elon Musk confirming that ‘there were no people in the car at all and no remote operators in control at any point’, Tesla hasn’t said to what level humans were involved in the process.
If staff weren’t needed to remove the robotaxi software and replace it with FSD, and it was all done remotely, then the future of car delivery will indeed be very different, as AI and new technology will phased out the need for delivery drivers.
There was certainly no driver on the 15-mile journey for this delivery, which included a mix of urban and highway roads. The Model Y successfully drove itself through merging highways, traffic light navigation, side streets and residential parking.
The AI-based, camera-only FSD system is part of Tesla’s Robotaxi initiative that launched in Austin earlier in June.
This autonomous delivery is a step up for Tesla’s autonomous driving technology in general, being the clearest marker yet that the US company is accelerating its autonomous roadmap.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to X to congratulate the 'Tesla AI team' on the first fully autonomous drive to drop a car buyer their new car
The proud Texas owner of the new Model Y will find that his new car is equipped with Tesla's advanced driver-assistance system, Autopilot.
As well as Summon, Autopark and Navigate, the Model Y has Full Self-Driving (Supervised) which expands on these features, enabling the vehicle to navigate more complex situations, including intersections and off-ramps, with minimal driver intervention.
The driver has to have their hands on the wheel at all times and is responsible for the car's movements while using FSD mode.
Available already in the US and Canada, FSD has just undergone its first trials in the UK.
Tesla debuted videos of the Model 3 driving around London, navigating the city's dynamic driving situations including around famous landmarks like Pall Mall.
The new Y now 4,790mm in length vs the old 4,751mm to improve efficiency but height and width remain the same
The rear-end of the car is one of the biggest visual changes - it's blanked-off and slicker as well as being more aerodynamic. Overall the new Y is less bulbous than the old model
The new Model Y is the first time the World's Bestselling Car has had a full update.
In brief, the latest Tesla Model Y features a redesigned exterior with a new front end inspired by the Cybertruck, including slimmer headlights and a full-width light bar at the rear.
The interior also has upgrades including wraparound ambient lighting, more soft-touch materials, and ventilated front seats, and an eight-inch rear touchscreen for passengers in the back.
As well as the original Launch Edition there's a Rear-Wheel Drive, a Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive and a Long Range All-Wheel Drive version.
The Rear-Wheel Drive does 0 to 60mph in 5.6 seconds and 311 miles on a single charge, while the Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive does 0 to 60 in 5.4 seconds and 387 miles. The Long Range All-Wheel Drive comparatively manages 0 to 60mph in 4.6 seconds and 364 miles.
The cheapest is the Rear-Wheel Drive Y which starts at £44,990. The Long Range RWD jumps up to £48,990 and the Long Range AWD price bumps up again to £51,990.
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