Reports have surfaced detailing a series of driving anomalies associated with Tesla’s newly launched robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. This rollout, which occurred earlier this week, features a limited fleet of autonomous Model Y vehicles equipped with cutting-edge software.
Footage captured by passengers highlighted concerning behaviors from the robotaxis, including abrupt braking, excessive acceleration, improper passenger drop-offs, lane misalignment, and instances of driving over curbs, as reported by Reuters.
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One notable video depicted a robotaxi entering a lane designated for oncoming traffic for a duration of six seconds. In another alarming video, a vehicle’s sudden braking for no clear reason jolted a passenger forward, causing personal items to scatter on the floor, according to the report by Reuters.
The autonomous vehicle incident dashboard in Austin, which monitors occurrences involving self-driving vehicles, also noted its first “safety concern” related to the robotaxi service this week.
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The reported incident coincided with the launch day of Tesla’s service, where one of the robotaxi vehicles was observed making an abrupt stop while passing by police vehicles that posed no obstruction in its intended route, confirmed a spokesperson from the city of Austin to Finance Newso Business via email.
“It’s concerning to see multiple videos of erratic driving this early in the service launch,” remarked Philip Koopman, an expert in autonomous technologies and professor at Carnegie Mellon University. “The frequency of problematic driving instances on the first day was unexpected.”
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This past Sunday marked the beginning of a trial program in Austin featuring 10 to 20 self-driving robotaxis, signaling the first time Tesla’s vehicles transported paying customers without human oversight. The flat fare for rides has been set at $4.20, as indicated by Tesla CEO Elon Musk on X.
Musk has indicated plans to expand the robotaxi service to additional U.S. cities later this year, projecting that a multitude of Teslas will operate autonomously by the latter part of 2026, according to Reuters.
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As of now, Tesla has not responded to requests for comments from Finance Newso Business.
