What’s Going Wrong with Tesla’s Robotaxis in Austin?

News Desk

Islamabad: Tesla’s newly launched Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, is off to a shaky start. Less than a week into its rollout, users have begun documenting a growing number of problematic behaviors by the autonomous vehicles—prompting Reddit users to compile an ongoing list of incidents.

According to The Verge, the list currently features 11 videos showing Tesla Robotaxis making basic driving mistakes, such as driving in the wrong lane, mounting curbs, and unexpectedly stopping in the middle of the road.

The service is still in its early testing phase and operates with just 10 to 20 Tesla Model Y vehicles within a limited area of South Austin. However, the frequency of errors—despite the small scale—has raised concerns.

Many of the videos come from passengers who are part of Tesla’s “Early Access” program, a group that includes both enthusiasts and influencers. While some rides have gone smoothly, others have highlighted troubling flaws in Tesla’s self-driving technology.

In one instance, a Robotaxi suddenly hit the brakes, which some believe may have been triggered by glare from the sun. This has reignited concerns over Tesla’s reliance on a vision-only system—especially when other companies are using a mix of cameras, radar, and LiDAR for better reliability.

More blatant errors, such as driving over a curb, suggest deeper issues with the system.

So far, no accidents have been reported, but the incidents underscore the current limitations of Tesla’s autonomous driving technology—particularly in light of CEO Elon Musk’s bold claims. Musk has long promised significant breakthroughs with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, though timelines have repeatedly slipped.

Despite these challenges, Musk aims to dramatically expand the Robotaxi fleet over the next year, stating that “millions” of self-driving Tesla vehicles could be operational by 2026. His vision includes Tesla owners deploying their cars as autonomous taxis to generate income.

How Tesla plans to resolve these technical issues in such a short time, however, remains uncertain.