Tesla Reveals Two Robotaxi Crashes Involving Teleoperators

Tesla Robotaxis person collapsed astatine slightest doubly since July 2025 while a teleoperator was remotely driving nan vehicles, according to recently unredacted accusation submitted to nan National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Both crashes happened successful Austin, Texas and occurred astatine debased speeds. In each case, location was a information show down nan instrumentality and nary passengers were onboard.

The caller accusation comes conscionable a fewer months aft Tesla told lawmakers that it allows distant operators to aviator 1 of nan company’s vehicles arsenic agelong arsenic they enactment nether 10 miles per hour. “This capacity enables Tesla to promptly move a conveyance that whitethorn beryllium successful a compromising position, thereby mitigating nan request to hold for a first responder aliases Tesla section typical to manually retrieve nan vehicle,” nan institution said astatine nan time.

Tesla, for illustration different companies moving connected autonomous conveyance technology, is required to taxable elaborate accusation astir immoderate crashes to NHTSA. Unlike astir of those different companies, though, Tesla had ever redacted nan descriptions of its crashes, claiming they were confidential business information.

It’s not clear why, but Tesla changed people this week, and nan latest type of nan information released by NHTSA now provides a communicative explanation for each 17 crashes Tesla has recorded since past twelvemonth pinch its nascent Robotaxi network.

In July 2025, soon aft Tesla first started operating nan web successful Austin, nan company’s automated driving strategy (ADS) apparently had problem moving guardant while stopped connected a street. The information show requested thief from Tesla’s distant assistance team, and a teleoperator “took complete conveyance power and gradually accrued conveyance velocity and turned nan Tesla ADS near toward nan near broadside of nan street.”

The teleoperator past drove “up nan curb and made interaction pinch a metallic fence.”

A akin series played retired successful January 2026. The Tesla ADS was driving nan conveyance consecutive connected a street, erstwhile nan information show "requested support to assistance pinch conveyance navigation."

"The teleoperator took complete conveyance power erstwhile nan ADS was stopped and proceeded consecutive connected nan street. The Tesla conveyance made interaction pinch a impermanent barricade fora. building tract astatine astir 9MPH, scraping nan front-left fender and tire," according to nan information submitted to NHTSA.

Similar to different autonomous conveyance companies for illustration Waymo, astir of nan different recently unredacted crashes impact Tesla Robotaxi vehicles being collapsed into alternatively of causing crashes.

But astatine slightest 2 of them impact a Tesla Robotaxi clipping its mirrors connected different vehicles. In 1 crash, from September 2025, nan Tesla ADS was incapable to debar hitting a canine that ran into nan street. (Tesla reported nan canine was capable to tally away.)

In different September 2025 crash, a Tesla Robotaxi made an unprotected near move into a parking batch and ran into a metallic chain. (NHTSA precocious closed an investigation into nan occasional inclination of Tesla's Full Self-Driving package to clang into parking batch bollards, chains, and gates. Waymo besides issued a callback past twelvemonth related to a akin problem.)

While different robotaxi companies for illustration Waymo and Zoox person reported much crashes than Tesla, Elon Musk's institution is operating astatine a fraction of nan scale. The specifications that were revealed this week successful nan recently un-redacted information whitethorn thief explicate why Tesla is scaling up its nascent autonomous ride-hailing web truthful slowly. Musk himself admitted past month that "making judge things are wholly safe" is nan biggest limiting facet to Tesla expanding nan network, saying nan institution is being "very cautious."