Tesla's Robotaxi rollout has started – and users are taking to the internet to share their horror stories
Tesla, battered and bruised by CEO Elon Musk's government gutting antics under President Donald Trump, has had another rough week after social media users shared videos of its robotaxi fleet apparently making mistakes during their pilot run in Austin, Texas.
The videos — which have been shared around social media and even collected in a handy Reddit post — were so concerning that they've prompted an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Of course, the NHTSA may have to carry out its investigation with fewer people, since DOGE under Musk cut four percent of the agency's staff in February.
The videos that prompted the investigation show a variety of mistakes made by the robotaxis during the trial run. In some, the mistakes are minor, like failing to notice a reversing UPS truck while pulling into a park spot, or popping a curb during a drive.
In one video, a robotaxi develops a digital lead foot and guns it to 26 mph in a 15 mph zone. In another, a robotaxi attempts to park extremely close to another car, prompting the vehicle's safety driver to intervene and take control.
But there were some more concerning videos in the mix as well. In one video, a robotaxi intending to make a left hand turn misreads a lane and ends up momentarily driving the wrong way. Thankfully no other vehicles were in the lane at the time.
According to The Verge, the individual riding in the robotaxi in that video, money manager Rob Maurer, brushed off the incident, noting that there were "no vehicles anywhere in sight" and saying that it "wasn't a safety issue.'
"I didn't feel uncomfortable in the situation," he said in his commentary about the video.
In another video, a passenger was dropped off in the middle of a busy intersection.
A few videos show the robotaxis "phantom braking," in which they come to a stop suddenly and without cause.
Tesla's vehicles have a history of issues with phantom breaking due to its camera-only perception system. The system apparently mistakes shadows, road markings, and other visuals as potential obstructions, which engages the vehicles' emergency braking system.
The obvious risk to drivers is that a vehicle stopping suddenly and without warning could very easily cause a traffic accident.
All of the videos came from Tesla's test of its Model Y robotaxis in Austin, CBS News reports. The company invited investors and social media influencers out to ride around in the taxis, which is why so many videos of the rides were captured.
The videos of the mistakes do not reflect the totality of the rides taken during the test. Sawyer Merritt, who posts overwhelmingly pro-Tesla content on X, said that he did not experience any issues during his 20 rides during the text, calling them "smooth and comfortable."
Dan Ives, a Wedbush Securities analyst who is bullish on Tesla's future and optimistic that Tesla's robotaxis will be a success, brushed off the mistakes as growing pains.
"Any issues they encounter will be fixed," he told the Associated Press, insisting that the Austin test run was a "huge success."
That said, the dozen or so videos that did show issues were captured over a three-day period of extremely limited use. If Musk has his way, there will be millions of Tesla's robotaxis on U.S. roads by the second half of 2026. He insists his self-driving cars are safer than human driven vehicles, and has called their implementation a "top priority."
The NHTSA said it has contacted Tesla in response to the videos.
"NHTSA is aware of the referenced incidents and is in contact with the manufacturer to gather additional information," the agency said in a statement. "Following an assessment of those reports and other relevant information, NHTSA will take any necessary actions to protect road safety."
The current investigation comes on the heels of another NHTSA probe into Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" technology in April. The probe began after four Tesla vehicles using the tech were involved in crashes. Tesla was forced to recall 2.4 million vehicles in response.
On Tuesday, representatives of three people who were killed during a crash last September involving Tesla's Model S car sued the vehicle maker, according to Reuters.
The Independent has requested comment from Tesla.
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