Tesla is trying to hide the small print of three separate accidents involving its Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, regardless of having solely two months of service with a small fleet.
Because of the Standing Normal Order 2021-01 (the “SGO”), automakers are required to report back to NHTSA crashes involving their autonomous driving and superior driver help techniques inside 5 days of being notified of them.
We’ve got beforehand reported on Tesla main crashes for degree 2 driver help techniques by 1000’s of reported crashes, however the automaker by no means reported any automated driving crashes as a result of it by no means had any system that might qualify as a degree 3-5 SAE automated driving system, regardless of the title of its “Full Self-Driving” software program package deal.
This has modified with the launch of Tesla’s restricted Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas.
Now, Tesla has reported its first three accidents involving an “automated driving system” by its new Robotaxi effort:
| Report ID | Identical Incident ID | Mannequin | Mannequin 12 months | Incident Date | Incident Time | Roadway Kind | Harm Severity* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13781-11507 | 346e79b6abcc2ca | Mannequin Y | 2026 | JUL‑2025 | 03:45 | Avenue | Property Injury. No Injured Reported |
| 13781-11459 | 8578fbc6ef74c60 | Mannequin Y | 2026 | JUL‑2025 | 12:20 | Avenue | Minor W/O Hospitalization |
| 13781-11375 | b5d3e7bb23a3388 | Mannequin Y | 2026 | JUL‑2025 | 15:15 | Intersection | Property Injury. No Injured Reported |
All of the accidents occurred in July, throughout Tesla’s first month of working its Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas.
There was at the very least one damage reported for one of many crashes, however Tesla lists it as “minor”. Not one of the accidents is being investigated by authorities primarily based on the knowledge Tesla has launched.
Tesla hasn’t launched many particulars about its Robotaxi effort, however the automaker is estimated to have solely about 12 automobiles in its Robotaxi fleet in Austin as of July, and it was providing rides to solely a restricted group of customers, principally Tesla influencers and shareholders who’re disincentivized from criticizing the corporate.
Because it does with its ADAS crash reporting, Tesla is hiding most particulars concerning the crashes. Not like its rivals, which overtly launch narrative details about the incidents, Tesla is redacting all of the narrative for all its crash reporting to NHTSA:
It makes it exhausting to get any context concerning the accident and assess the extent of accountability for the automated driving system.
Not like rivals, equivalent to Waymo, Tesla’s Robotaxi nonetheless makes use of a “security monitor” who sits within the entrance seat with a finger on a kill swap able to cease the automobile. Regardless of this added degree of security, Tesla is evidently nonetheless experiencing crashes.
CEO Elon Musk has claimed that Tesla would take away the security monitor by the tip of the yr and ship on its “full self-driving” guarantees to clients, however he has by no means shared any information proving that Tesla’s automated driving system is dependable sufficient to realize that.
NTHSA can also be investigating Tesla for misreporting its crash information.
Electrek’s Take
The information are that Tesla has by no means launched any vital information to show that its system is dependable. By no means.
The one information Tesla has shared is the cumulative mileage pushed by the fleet on Autopilot and Full Self-Driving, however that’s with a human driver on the wheel always.
Tesla by no means shared disengagement information regardless of publicly claiming a number of elements of enchancment in miles between disengagements.
How will you belief an organization that operates like that?
Moreover, it redacts essentially the most important particulars of crashes involving its driver-assist and automatic driving techniques.
That’s not the kind of opacity I wish to see from an organization deploying doubtlessly harmful, but additionally doubtlessly lifesaving, expertise.
Sadly, I’ve misplaced hope of regulators doing something about this any time quickly. It can doubtless take extra tragic accidents for them to behave.
