Federal traffic safety regulators are currently investigating potential issues with the trial run of Elon Musk’s self-driving “robotaxis” in Texas. Videos have emerged showing these vehicles suddenly braking, moving straight through intersections from turning lanes, and occasionally driving on the wrong side of the road.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced on Tuesday that it has requested information from Tesla regarding these incidents. Many other video reports show the robotaxis operating correctly, but significant issues, if identified, might challenge Musk’s assertions about the safety of these self-driving systems. Such findings could also cast doubt on his vision of a future where nearly all vehicles operate without human intervention or even the need for steering wheels.
“NHTSA is aware of the referenced incidents and is in contact with the manufacturer to gather additional information,” the agency stated.
While Tesla robotaxi passengers in Austin, Texas, have generally provided positive feedback, Tesla’s stock showed fluctuations following these developments. Although shares rose by 8% on Monday, concerns over the NHTSA inquiry led to a more than 2% dip on Tuesday.
Tesla did not immediately offer a comment on the matter.
Dan Ives, a Tesla-supportive financial analyst who experienced a smooth ride in a robotaxi over the weekend, downplayed concerns raised by videos on social media depicting errors, considering them minor.
“Any issues they encounter will be fixed,” remarked Ives from Wedbush Securities, deeming the tests a “huge success” over the past three days despite skeptical viewpoints.
Sam Abuelsamid from Telemetry Insight, however, found the need to pause the tests due to concerning video footage essential.
“The system has always had highly erratic performance, working really well a lot of the time but frequently making random and inconsistent but dangerous errors,” Abuelsamid conveyed in a message, regarding Tesla’s self-driving software. “This is not a system that should be carrying members of the public or being tested on public roads without trained test drivers behind the wheel.”
One video captured a Tesla car veering into a lane clearly marked for left-only turns but proceeding straight through an intersection, entering the oncoming traffic lane. The vehicle appeared to attempt self-correction through erratic swerving but ultimately continued down the wrong lane for 10 seconds. Fortunately, no oncoming vehicles were present at that moment.
Rob Maurer, the passenger in that video, downplayed the occurrence, stating, “There are no vehicles anywhere in sight, so this wasn’t a safety issue,” in the commentary accompanying his footage.
Another clip displays a Tesla stopping abruptly twice on the road, possibly reacting to nearby police car lights, although the police were responding to an unrelated situation on side roads away from the Tesla.
Last year, federal regulators started probing how Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system responded under low visibility conditions following several accidents, including one fatal incident. Consequently, Tesla conducted a recall of 2.4 million vehicles.
Musk maintains that Tesla vehicles using Full Self-Driving technology are safer than those driven by humans. He foresees robotaxis, equipped with an upgraded system, achieving great success and expects hundreds of thousands of them on the road by the end of the next year.
Nonetheless, Musk faces significant hurdles even if his Austin tests yield positive results. Several competitors like Amazon’s Zoox and market leader Waymo are also in the robotaxi space, already operational in Austin and other cities, with Waymo recently reaching its milestone of 10 million paid rides.
Musk requires success in the robotaxi market urgently. His association with the Trump administration as a cost-cutting advisor has alienated some of Tesla’s environmentally inclined and progressive American audience, influencing sales negatively. Additionally, European buyers were unsettled by Musk’s interactions with far-right political figures earlier this year in Britain and Germany.