Tesla’s highly anticipated robotaxi service launched in Austin, Texas, on June 22, 2025, with the promise of transforming the future of urban transportation through full vehicle autonomy. The initial fleet of 10–20 modified Tesla Model Y vehicles equipped with the company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software began offering paid rides at a flat rate of $4.20 per trip. These rides were supervised by human safety monitors, despite Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s repeated assurances that the vehicles could handle all driving tasks independently. However, within hours of launch, troubling real-world issues emerged—raising safety alarms and sparking national debate about the readiness of autonomous vehicles for public deployment.
Numerous online videos and firsthand rider accounts began to surface on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and TikTok. The clips showcased robotaxis making several dangerous errors: drifting across double yellow lines, taking awkward and incorrect turns, stalling in intersections, or stopping in live traffic instead of pulling over properly. One video, in particular, went viral, showing a robotaxi incorrectly entering a left-turn-only lane, realizing the mistake, and jerking back across multiple lanes of traffic—narrowly avoiding a crash. These behaviors, while not resulting in major accidents yet, triggered widespread concern among passengers, local residents, and transportation experts alike.
Tesla’s use of a camera-only system—branded “Tesla Vision”—has become a central point of controversy. Unlike competitors such as Waymo, Cruise, and Zoox, which rely on a combination of cameras, radar, lidar, and pre-mapped environments to enhance precision and redundancy, Tesla is betting solely on neural network learning and computer vision to navigate complex city traffic. While this bold strategy has reduced hardware costs and simplified vehicle design, it also leaves Tesla vehicles more vulnerable to misinterpreting unusual traffic patterns, poor weather, or unpredictable human behavior.
Waymo, in comparison, currently operates fully driverless vehicles in cities like Phoenix and San Francisco with fewer major incidents—thanks in part to their cautious rollout and extensive reliance on sensor fusion. Even companies like Apple, which are reportedly developing autonomous systems behind closed doors, have expressed skepticism about launching without full-spectrum perception hardware. Critics argue that Tesla’s aggressive push to deploy real-world systems before reaching a true “Level 4” autonomy standard places unnecessary risk on passengers and the public.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) promptly opened an investigation into Tesla’s robotaxi rollout. Regulators requested access to vehicle logs, incident reports, and system override data to determine how autonomous decision-making is handled and how Tesla’s safety monitors intervene. This scrutiny is nothing new for Tesla, whose Autopilot and FSD systems have faced previous probes due to high-profile crashes and safety complaints. However, this time, the vehicles are being used for commercial passenger rides—elevating the stakes.
Local government officials in Austin have also begun raising concerns. While Texas is known for its friendly stance toward emerging tech, several state lawmakers have proposed bills that would require autonomous vehicle services to adhere to stricter performance benchmarks, transparency standards, and public reporting obligations. Privacy advocates are also watching closely, as Tesla’s robotaxis log massive amounts of real-time video and sensor data.
Despite the concerns, not all feedback has been negative. Some users praised the experience when it worked correctly, especially on straight or low-traffic routes. Riders reported smooth lane-keeping, appropriate traffic light responses, and relatively accurate navigation in well-mapped neighborhoods. Additionally, Tesla completed its first autonomous vehicle delivery, sending a brand-new Model Y directly to a customer’s home with no one inside. The event was hailed as a technical milestone, even though it took place under optimal conditions and with remote oversight.
Tesla plans to expand its fleet to over 1,000 robotaxis by the end of 2025, before launching the Cybercab—a fully autonomous, no-steering-wheel electric vehicle designed specifically for robotaxi use—by 2027. Musk claims the Cybercab will be safer than any human driver and dramatically cheaper than Uber or Lyft, potentially disrupting the rideshare industry as we know it. The economic model centers around vehicle owners sending their personal Tesla vehicles to work as robotaxis while they’re not using them, allowing passive income generation.
Still, even Tesla’s strongest supporters acknowledge the company is facing a pivotal moment. The promise of self-driving cars has captured the imagination of the public for over a decade, but reality has proven stubbornly complex. Lane positioning, unexpected pedestrian behavior, emergency vehicles, poorly marked roads, and construction zones remain unsolved challenges for AI-based driving systems. Tesla’s insistence on skipping HD maps and sensor redundancy in favor of rapid deployment may cost them both public trust and regulatory goodwill if the issues aren’t addressed swiftly and transparently.
FAQs About Tesla’s Robotaxi Issues
1. Q: What is Tesla’s robotaxi service?
A: It’s Tesla’s autonomous ride-hailing system using FSD-equipped Model Y vehicles offering self-driving rides without a human driver, currently piloted in Austin, Texas.
2. Q: Are the robotaxis fully driverless?
A: Not yet. Each robotaxi has a human safety monitor in the passenger seat, and Tesla hasn’t removed human oversight during rides as of now.
3. Q: What kinds of driving problems were reported?
A: Issues included vehicles driving the wrong way, drifting over yellow lines, illegal lane changes, sudden braking, and stopping in traffic lanes.
4. Q: Did any government agencies get involved?
A: Yes. The NHTSA opened a formal investigation into the robotaxi program due to safety concerns within 24 hours of its launch.
5. Q: Is Tesla using radar or lidar like other AV companies?
A: No. Tesla uses a camera-only system called Tesla Vision, whereas competitors like Waymo use lidar, radar, and high-definition mapping for redundancy and precision.
6. Q: How much does a Tesla robotaxi ride cost?
A: The introductory price in Austin is $4.20 per ride, a flat rate during the pilot phase.
7. Q: What is phantom braking and why is it a concern?
A: Phantom braking refers to sudden, unexplained stops that the vehicle makes, which can startle passengers and pose rear-end collision risks.
8. Q: How has the public responded to the service?
A: The response has been mixed. Some praised the technology when it worked smoothly, while others were alarmed by its unpredictable behavior.
9. Q: What’s the long-term goal of Tesla’s robotaxi program?
A: Tesla aims to launch a fully driverless vehicle called the Cybercab by 2027 and scale robotaxi operations globally with no steering wheels or pedals.
10. Q: Is the robotaxi service still running despite the issues?
A: Yes, the service is still operational in Austin, though closely monitored by regulators and safety officials, with potential restrictions coming if issues persist.
