Tesla just pulled off its most ambitious self-driving demo to date, and it covered the kind of distance many drivers dread.
In a new video, the company showed its Full Self-Driving system making the roughly 360-mile trek from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles in about six and a half hours, according to Teslarati. The car seemed to handle the drive with zero hiccups, even squeezing in a quick Supercharging stop along the way.
7 hour road trips aren't so bad when your Tesla does all the driving pic.twitter.com/tIrmhDAbRf
— Tesla (@Tesla) August 12, 2025
"7 hour road trips aren't so bad when your Tesla does all the driving," the company's X account posted when sharing the video.
While FSD isn't fully autonomous, it works under what Tesla calls "Supervised" conditions. That means the car takes care of the steering, braking, and accelerating on its own, while a cabin camera monitors the driver's eyes to help make sure they're alert and ready to step in.
This trip appears to highlight just how far Tesla's technology has come in the last year. According to Teslarati, "improvements in data comprehension and storage with its neural nets" and hardware have helped FSD make "significant strides," putting it closer than ever to the long-sought goal of true — and safe — autonomous driving.
For everyday drivers, that could mean road trips that feel less exhausting, especially on long, repetitive highway stretches.
There could also be a bigger impact. More confidence in self-driving features could encourage more people to choose electric vehicles, reducing the heat-trapping pollution generated by traditional gas-powered cars.
Tesla still faces pressure, though, as its sales have been slipping in 2025, including an 18% drop in California earlier this year. Demos like this trip from SF to LA can double as a demonstration of the company's technological capabilities.
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Whether you're a daily commuter or someone planning a cross-country adventure, this demo shows we're getting closer to a future in which EVs can make long drives easier and cleaner.
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