Missed90% autopilot capable by 2015
“A Tesla car next year will probably be 90-percent capable of autopilot. Like, so 90 percent of your miles c…”
“Our goal is, and I feel pretty good about this goal, that we'll be able to do a demonstration drive of full autonomy all the way from LA to New York, from home in LA to let's say dropping you off in Times Square in New York, and then having the car go park itself, by the end of next year.”
▶ WATCH HIM SAY IT — RECORDING OF THE OCT 19 2016 TESLA AUTOPILOT 2.0 / HW2 PRESS CONFERENCE CALL ('TESLA OCTOBER 19TH 2016 AUTOPILOT 2.0 CONFERENCE CALL WITH VISUALS ADDED', UPLOADED OCT 20 2016)
What actually happened
Musk promised a fully autonomous LA-to-NYC demonstration drive by the end of 2017 (stated Oct 19, 2016). The drive never happened; Tesla missed the end-of-2017 deadline and the coast-to-coast demo was never completed in any later year. As of 2026 Tesla FSD remains supervised. Wikipedia — List of predictions for autonomous Tesla vehicles by Elon Musk ↗
The Progression
Oct 19, 2016
The promise: “Our goal is, and I feel pretty good about this goal, that we'll be able to do a demonstration drive of full autonomy all the way from LA to New York, from home in LA to let's say dropping you off in Times Square in New York, and then having the car go park itself, by the end of next year.” · Recording of the Oct 19 2016 Tesla Autopilot 2.0 / HW2 press conference call ('Tesla October 19th 2016 Autopilot 2.0 Conference Call With Visuals Added', uploaded Oct 20 2016) ↗
Dec 31, 2017
Deadline passed. Musk promised a fully autonomous LA-to-NYC demonstration drive by the end of 2017 (stated Oct 19, 2016). The drive never happened; Tesla missed the end-of-2017 deadline and the coast-to-coast demo was never completed in any later year. As of 2026 Tesla FSD remains supervised. Wikipedia — List of predictions for autonomous Tesla vehicles by Elon Musk ↗
Today · Jun 18, 2026
Status: Missed · 3,091 days past due. Never happened.
Cross-country autonomous drive by late 2017 was promised in October 2016 with the notable detail that 'A Tesla should be able to drive from a parking lot in California to a parking lot in New York with no controls touched.' Millions of Tesla stakeholders and potential robotaxi users are waiting for this full self-driving capability amid ongoing autonomy delays. This follows Tesla's pattern of similar predictions for level 5 autonomy and hands-free trips. As of April 2019, the company has not demonstrated any vehicles completing such a cross-country, hands-free drive.
Receipts
LAST CHECKED 2026-06-17- [VIDEO] Recording of the Oct 19 2016 Tesla Autopilot 2.0 / HW2 press conference call ('Tesla October 19th 2016 Autopilot 2.0 Conference Call With Visuals Added', uploaded Oct 20 2016)
- [REPORT] (archived)
- [REPORT] NBC News coverage of the Oct 19 2016 press call
- [REPORT] cnbc.com
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