Here’s a running list of all of Tesla’s robotaxi mishaps so far
Tesla’s robotaxi rollout has been rockier than the fanboys and influencers who got early access to the company’s driverless vehicles would like you to believe. And thanks to these diligent Redditors, we now have a list of all the mistakes the company’s “unsupervised” vehicles have made in the first couple days.
Several incidents involve “phantom braking,” in which the vehicle stops suddenly for seemingly no reason. Tesla’s camera-only perception system has long had problems with phantom braking, appearing to misinterpret shadows, road marking, or other environmental factors, which triggers the vehicle’s automatic emergency braking. The Reddit list includes three incidents of phantom braking.
Here’s the other incidents that have cropped up so far:
Tesla has said it’s gathering feedback from riders on how to improve the robotaxi service. Some early riders posted their thoughts on X, but mostly around improving the app experience. (The app doesn’t allow you to adjust your pickup location, nor does it let you drop a pin in the service area for a more precise drop-off.) Sawyer Merritt, an X user who posts pro-Tesla content, said he didn’t experience any problems in his 20 rides over two days. “No interventions, no critical safety issues. All my rides were smooth and comfortable,” he wrote.
But the above list suggests that not everyone’s experience was so seamless. Also, the only way we know about any of these incidents is because robotaxi customers are documenting their rides and posting them on social media. Texas doesn’t require any incident reporting or data sharing from Tesla — though the state did recently approve a new permitting system that could prove to be more difficult for the company to navigate. One provision allows state regulators to revoke permits if a company’s autonomous vehicles are deemed a safety risk.
Keep in mind, these are the incidents that cropped up among a small fleet of 10-20 vehicles in just three days of semi-public availability. Musk has said he wants thousands of vehicles on the road within months, and perhaps “a million” by the end of next year. Imagine what the list looks like at that point.
Tesla’s robotaxi rollout has been rockier than the fanboys and influencers who got early access to the company’s driverless vehicles would like you to believe. And thanks to these diligent Redditors, we now have a list of all the mistakes the company’s “unsupervised” vehicles have made in the first couple…
Recent Posts
Archives
- June 2026
- May 2026
- April 2026
- March 2026
- February 2026
- January 2026
- December 2025
- November 2025
- October 2025
- September 2025
- August 2025
- July 2025
- June 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023