The principle transportation security regulator within the US is requesting info from Tesla after movies confirmed the corporate’s self-driving Robotaxis exceeding the velocity restrict or veering into the fallacious lane. The corporate launched the service in Austin, Texas, over the weekend.
Tesla closely promoted the preliminary, restricted rollout of its Robotaxis, which included pro-Tesla influencers utilizing the paid trip service and displaying off footage of their journeys. As a substitute of optimistic promotion, although, these movies seem to have drawn scrutiny from the Nationwide Freeway Transit Security Administration (NHTSA), because the automobiles struggled to adjust to visitors legal guidelines.
“NHTSA is conscious of the referenced incidents and is in touch with the producer to collect further info,” the company mentioned in an announcement.
The Robotaxi’s debut over the weekend featured about 10 automobiles with “security drivers” within the entrance passenger seat driving round a circumscribed space of Austin. Though Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO, touted the launch as an enormous success and vowed it could make driving safer, a number of influencers posted movies that appeared to point out their Robotaxis glitching or rushing.
One video – posted by a Tesla investor who previously hosted a podcast concerning the firm – confirmed the Robotaxi wobbling because it misjudged a left flip, then going right into a lane meant for oncoming visitors earlier than driving throughout a double yellow line again into the right lane. No automobiles have been within the lane meant for oncoming visitors on the time.
In one other video, a pro-Tesla YouTuber praised how the automobile was going a number of miles per hour over the velocity restrict.
Musk has wager a big a part of the automaker’s future on its Robotaxi program, for years promoting a imaginative and prescient of the longer term by which hundreds of thousands of his driverless automobiles roam cities all around the world. Each watchdogs and buyers are intently scrutinizing if Tesla can flip the chance right into a actuality or whether or not it joins an extended record of Musk’s missed guarantees.
“I predict that there can be hundreds of thousands of Teslas working absolutely autonomously within the second half of subsequent yr,” Musk mentioned throughout an earnings name in April. He made an analogous assertion in 2019.
The NHTSA doesn’t pre-approve new applied sciences or driving methods, it mentioned in an announcement. As a substitute, producers certify their automobiles meet company requirements, then investigators look into potential security defects. The NHTSA assesses studies and related info then decides on tips on how to handle street issues of safety.
“NHTSA will proceed to implement the regulation on all producers of motor automobiles and tools, in accordance with the Automobile Security Act and our data-driven, risk-based investigative course of,” the company acknowledged.
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Robotaxis have taken on elevated significance for Tesla this yr as gross sales have fallen and year-on-year income dropped 71% over the primary quarter of 2025, amid backlash towards Musk’s far-right politics. Whereas revenues have declined, Musk has vowed that Tesla’s Robotaxis will develop into the way forward for transportation.
Along with its preliminary inquiry into the Robotaxis, the NHTSA additionally has an open investigation into Tesla, begun in 2024, over whether or not the automaker’s “Full-Self Driving” mode is protected throughout circumstances that scale back roadway visibility. A Tesla allegedly utilizing the autonomous characteristic struck and killed a 71-year-old lady in 2023 whereas the solar was setting and casting glare over the street in Arizona.
