Hey followers, Nuked here with some exciting tech news! Imagine a car driving itself for real — well, Tesla just made it happen.

In a bold move, Tesla recently let a Model Y SUV cruise about 15 miles autonomously from the factory straight to its new owner’s apartment complex. Elon Musk called it the first “autonomous delivery” of a customer vehicle. Interestingly, the car used the same self-driving software as Tesla’s robotaxi service in Austin, though it was downgraded to a version that still needs a driver to stay alert. No one was in the car and Musk claimed no assistance was provided remotely during this trip.

This stunt comes just days after Tesla launched a limited robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. The route was quite complex, involving highway merges, red light turns, a roundabout, and a left turn, all in real traffic conditions. The trip was captured in a 30-minute video, showcasing Tesla’s impressive progress in autonomous driving.

Many questions arise from this feat: what preparations did Tesla undertake to make such a drive possible? Historically, Tesla has staged similar self-driving videos. Back in 2016, Tesla showed a supposedly self-driving ride through the Bay Area, which was later revealed to be heavily pre-mapped and staged, with the safety driver taking control multiple times.

Was this recent drive similarly staged or prepped using external sensors like lidar? Tesla hasn’t commented on whether their vehicles used external sensors for this drive. The real test is whether the car can repeat such trips safely and reliably, multiple times, without intervention. Elon Musk previously promised self-driving cars that could travel coast-to-coast without human help, but we’re still waiting for that day.

Though an impressive milestone, critics like Dan O’Dowd pointed out that the car stopped in a fire lane outside the new owner’s apartment — a minor yet noteworthy flaw. Still, the overall achievement marks significant progress in self-driving tech, even if many details remain under wraps.

As Tesla advances its self-driving endeavors, the key will be consistency and safety in everyday traffic. For now, this delivery showcases how far autonomous vehicles have come, but it’s just a step in the ongoing journey toward fully reliable, driverless cars.