Safety Concerns Mount as Tesla Robotaxis Show Faults in First Weekend

The debut weekend for Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, has quickly turned into a safety concern, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launching an inquiry. Videos posted online by users and influencers have shown the autonomous vehicles exceeding speed limits and veering into the wrong lanes, leading the US’s main transportation safety regulator to contact Tesla for more information. This immediate scrutiny underscores the challenges of autonomous deployment.
Tesla had heavily promoted the limited rollout, leveraging pro-Tesla influencers to showcase the new paid ride service. However, these promotional efforts backfired as the very videos intended to highlight the technology’s capabilities instead exposed instances of the Robotaxis failing to comply with basic traffic regulations. The NHTSA’s awareness of these “referenced incidents” indicates a serious examination is underway.
Disturbing footage includes a video from a Tesla investor showing a Robotaxi struggling with a left turn, momentarily entering an opposing traffic lane before correcting itself. Another video featured a pro-Tesla YouTuber openly praising the car for driving “several miles per hour over the speed limit,” demonstrating a clear disregard for traffic laws. These documented issues raise alarms about the system’s current state of development.
Elon Musk has placed a significant portion of Tesla’s future on the success of its Robotaxi program, even predicting millions of fully autonomous Teslas by next year. However, with declining sales and substantial profit drops in early 2025, this new NHTSA investigation, combined with an ongoing probe into “Full-Self Driving” safety, adds considerable pressure on Tesla to deliver on its ambitious autonomous driving promises.