A groundbreaking achievement was recently accomplished by a Tesla vehicle, fulfilling a promise made by Elon Musk nearly ten years ago. The car successfully completed a fully autonomous journey from Los Angeles to New York City without any human intervention.
Renowned automotive journalist and autonomy tester, Alex Roy, led the milestone event known as the “Tesla FSD Cannonball Run.” Covering a distance of 3,081 miles, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software managed all driving aspects, including highways, city streets, and challenging winter weather conditions, without any human interference.
The journey lasted 58 hours and 22 minutes, with only necessary charging stops, using FSD version 14.2.2.3 on a 2024 Tesla Model S equipped with AI4 hardware. The vehicle maintained an average speed of 64 mph, navigating through extreme cold, snow, ice, slush, and rain. Interestingly, Roy mentioned that the car could have reached its destination even faster without human presence causing detours or delays.
Throughout the trip, the car operated hands-free, including during charging sessions, with the only recorded disengagement occurring when Roy accidentally touched the steering wheel. The entire journey was documented on camera, with the release of video footage anticipated soon.
This accomplishment adds to the growing body of evidence showcasing the advancements of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology. Previous feats include a 10,000-mile coast-to-coast drive without human intervention and a 5,000-mile journey under FSD control. This recent achievement surpasses even a 1,200-mile FSD run with a Cybertruck last year.
The significance of this Cannonball run is amplified by its timing, coinciding with Tesla’s introduction of fully autonomous Robotaxi rides in Austin without a driver or safety monitor onboard. This marks the initial public deployment of “unsupervised” Full Self-Driving, indicating Tesla’s rapid progress towards hands-off driving on a larger scale.
Roy’s impartial stance towards Tesla further emphasizes the significance of this accomplishment. As Elon Musk has stated, once autonomy reaches maturity, human input becomes more prone to error. If the forthcoming footage of Roy’s journey lives up to expectations, it could be a pivotal moment in Tesla’s pursuit of self-driving technology.