Tesla’s Robotaxis Face Ongoing Challenges: An Expanding Collection of Events


Tesla’s Robotaxi service, which debuted in Austin, Texas less than a week ago, has faced several dubious situations, leading Reddit users to curate a compilation of all the incidents. The list (via The Verge) currently features 11 videos showcasing notable errors made by Tesla’s Robotaxis, such as driving in incorrect lanes, running over curbs, and stopping unexpectedly in the middle of the road. This is not an ideal situation for the service, which has been functional for under a week with merely 10 to 20 Tesla Model Y vehicles operating in a restricted area of South Austin.

The compilation has largely been assembled by passengers riding in Tesla’s Robotaxi vehicles, and it continues to expand. Some occurrences can be clarified by legitimate reasons, such as a video capturing a Robotaxi Tesla braking suddenly, possibly due to abrupt sunlight, raising doubts regarding Tesla’s vision-only method for self-driving, instead of integrating additional sensors like LiDARs. Other incidents, such as footage of a Tesla seemingly running over a curb, appear to be straightforward Robotaxi mistakes.

It’s important to mention that numerous Robotaxi passengers described their rides as smooth and comfortable. The service is presently available to the “Early Access” group, which primarily includes Tesla fans and influencers. While certain videos raise concerns, Tesla’s Robotaxis have yet to be involved in any accidents.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk envisions expanding the Robotaxi service in the upcoming months, anticipating “millions” of vehicles to be operational next year, with the goal of enabling people to send their Teslas to work as Robotaxis. However, the rapid progression of the service remains uncertain, considering Musk’s ongoing promises of significant advancements to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology, which continue to face delays.