A prominent Wall Street analyst has reported a milestone for Tesla Inc.’s TSLA Full Self-Driving technology, completing an unassisted journey from Manhattan to Connecticut, marking a notable advancement in the company’s autonomous driving capabilities.

What Happened: Pierre Ferragu, an analyst at New Street Research, shared his experience on X, formerly Twitter, stating, “Last night FSD got me out of deep into Manhattan and drove me back home to Connecticut. Got through a number of challenging and confusing situations with mastery. Not a single intervention. Robotaxi never felt that close ever before.”

For context, the drive from Manhattan to Connecticut spans approximately 94.7 miles and typically takes up to 1 hour and 45 minutes.

The successful navigation of complex urban environments represents a significant step forward for Tesla’s autonomous driving technology, particularly in challenging city conditions where self-driving systems typically face their greatest tests.

This development comes as Tesla continues to enhance its FSD technology amid growing competition in the autonomous vehicle sector from companies like Alphabet Inc GOOGL GOOG-backed Waymo, Baidu BIDU and Mobileye Global MBLY.

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Why It Matters: The achievement is particularly notable given New York City’s demanding driving environment, known for its dense traffic, complex intersections, and unpredictable pedestrian movements.

Tesla’s autonomous driving progress comes at a crucial time as reports suggest a potential easing of federal regulations for self-driving vehicles, which could accelerate the company’s robotaxi ambitions.

The stock has shown significant volatility over the past year, trading between $138.80 and $358.64, as investors weigh the company’s autonomous driving progress against market challenges, including changes to the federal EV tax credit structure.

Price Action: Tesla stock closed at $320.72 on Friday, gaining 3.07% for the day. In after-hours trading, the stock edged up 0.0062%. Year to date, Tesla’s stock has risen by 29.10%, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.