The spotlight falls on the Tesla Model Y after it completed a roughly 24 kilometer trip from the Giga Texas factory to an apartment complex in Austin, all without anyone behind the wheel. Captured in a sleek video posted by the company, the car traveled through real traffic, highways, and residential roads while adjusting its speed up to 113 kilometers per hour.

According to Elon Musk, the journey relied on Tesla’s Full Self Driving software, without remote control or backup driver intervention. The vehicle even transitioned between different driving modes, briefly moving off the robotaxi setting before completing the route under supervised FSD mode. It marks the first time a Tesla has carried out a full route like this entirely alone, showing off what the tech can do, at least under ideal conditions.

That’s the question nobody can answer with complete confidence. While the Model Y delivery was technically impressive, it opens up a host of legal uncertainties. The US still lacks clear national laws governing fully autonomous vehicles, and most state laws still require a licensed driver to be present—even if just as a safety measure.

Tesla’s past has not helped build trust in this space either. Critics quickly recalled the controversial “Paint It Black” video, which was edited to look like a smooth autonomous drive but later turned out to be staged. In the current video, it is still unclear what would have happened if the car had malfunctioned. Would Tesla send out a technician? Or fall back to remote control? And what about interactions with emergency responders or confused human drivers sharing the road?

The delivery is a tech milestone, but it also puts pressure on lawmakers to catch up. Without updated laws and clear safety frameworks, even the most advanced self driving cars might have to hit the brakes.