Billionaire Dan O’Dowd discusses why he is critical of Tesla’s full self-driving technology on ‘The Claman Countdown.’
Riders have reportedly documented multiple incidents of driving issues with Tesla’s new robotaxi service, which the automaker rolled out earlier this week in Austin, Texas, with a small fleet of self-driving vehicles.
Videos taken this week by passengers showed Tesla robotaxis – which are Model Y vehicles with advanced software – braking suddenly, speeding, conducting improper drop-offs, entering the wrong lane and driving over a curb, according to Reuters.
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One video showed a robotaxi driving into a lane intended for oncoming traffic for six seconds. In another incident, a vehicle was seen braking suddenly for no apparent reason, leading the passenger to jerk forward and their belongings to fall on the floor, Reuters reported.
A Tesla robotaxi with no backseat passengers drives on the street along South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, on June 22, 2025. (REUTERS/Joel Angel Juarez / Reuters)
Austin’s autonomous vehicle incident dashboard, which tracks safety incidents involving autonomous vehicles in the city, also shows the robotaxi service had its first reported “safety concern” this week.
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The reported incident, which occurred the same day Tesla rolled out its self-driving taxis in the city, said one of the robotaxi vehicles was seen braking abruptly as it passed police vehicles that were not in its driving path, a spokesperson for the city of Austin told FOX Business in an email.
A Tesla robotaxi drives on the street along South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, U.S., June 22, 2025. (REUTERS/Joel Angel Juarez / Reuters)
“This is awfully early to have a bunch of videos of erratic and poor driving,” Philip Koopman, a Carnegie Mellon University computer-engineering professor and autonomous-technology expert, told Reuters. “I was not expecting as many videos of problematic driving on the very first day.”
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A Tesla robotaxi with no backseat passengers drives on the street along South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, on June 22, 2025. (REUTERS/Joel Angel Juarez / Reuters)
On Sunday, Tesla launched a trial group in Austin of about 10 to 20 self-driving robotaxis, marking the first time the company’s cars carried paying riders without human drivers. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on X the launch began with customers paying a $4.20 flat fee.
Musk has previously said Tesla would roll out the robotaxi service to other cities in the U.S. later this year, predicting that millions of Teslas would be operating autonomously by the second half of 2026, according to Reuters.
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Tesla did not respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
