Rotetaxi-lanseringen har vært underholdende. Tyve biler, i Austin, Texas - kun fanbois og teslatro "influensere" som har fått lov å kjøre i bilene. Mange av disse har delt video av opplevelsen, til tross for mange problemer.
Det sitter en "mission abort" sjåfør i passasjersetet foran, denne har tilgang til to "kill switches" som kan stanse bilen øyeblikkelig, om nødvendig. De får ikke lov til å snakke med fanbois og -gals i baksetet. Det sitter en "controller" i hovedkvarteret, som følger med, og bilene får kun kjøres i oppholdsvær med gode lysforhold.
Det er juni 2025. I 2016 meldte Musk at "a driverless Tesla" ville krysse USA i løpet av 2017.
By 2017, Tesla cars could be driving all the way across the country without any hands on the wheel, according to CEO Elon Musk.
www.nbcnews.com
Ni år etter kjører bilene i et "geo-inngjerdet" avgrenset område av Austin, med en mann som skal forsøke å avverge altfor farlige situasjoner, og med styring fra en sentral. (Sentralen avsluttet en tur fordi det var meldt regn og passasjeren ble bedt om å forlate bilen straks).
Noen av de farlige/merkelige hendelsene som har sluppet ut til offentligheten, fordi utvalgte passasjerer har live-streamet:
List of clips showing Tesla's Robotaxi incidents
Driving Footage
A lot of people have been documenting Tesla's Robotaxi rollout. I wanted to share a few I've collected. Feel free to share any I missed!
- Robotaxi drives into oncoming lane
- Rider presses "pull over", Robotaxi stops in the middle of an intersection, rider gets out while Robotaxi blocks intersection for a few moments
- Rider presses pull over and the car just stopped in the middle of the road. Safety monitor has to call rider support to get car moving again
- Robotaxi doesn't detect UPS driver's reverse lights (or the car reversing towards it) and continues to attempt to park, then safety monitor manually stops it
- Robotaxi cuts off a car, then randomly brakes (potentially because of an upcoming tree shadow?)
- Robotaxi going 26 in a 15
- Robotaxi unexpectedly brakes, possibly due to nearby police
- Robotaxi unexpectedly slams on brakes, causing rider to drop phone
- Robotaxi comes to a complete stop after approaching an object, then runs it over (rider says it's a shopping bag,
though the car visibly bump up and down) (UPDATE: Some people have pointed out that the car's movement is from a speed bump immediately after the bag/object. The speed bump is more visible at full resolution.)
- Robotaxi runs over curb in parking lot
- Safety driver moved to driver seat to intervene
- Support calls rider during a Robotaxi ride, asks them to terminate the ride early because it's about to rain, rider is dumped in a random park
Vergecast har hatt det moro med noe som var "totally predictable" ifølge deres eksperter på selvkjørende biler. De åpner podcasten med å gå gjennom hva som har skjedd:
Podcast Episode · The Vergecast · 27/06/2025 · 1h 46m
podcasts.apple.com
Muskwatch kommenterer:
After years of blown deadlines, Tesla this week finally launched a severely restricted and heavily supervised version of its Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. The rollout has been less than ideal. Despite precautions, including the use of teleoperators, geofencing, and "safety monitors" (otherwise known as human employees sitting shotgun), Tesla's fleet of about 10 self-driving Model Ys has been recorded committing numerous traffic violations.
In one video, a Robotaxi could be seen
driving into a lane for oncoming traffic for six seconds. Another video showed a passenger
pressing the "pull over" button, only for the Robotaxi to stop in the middle of a multi-lane intersection, blocking it temporarily. After a similar incident occurred with another rider, the Robotaxi
stopped in the middle of the road, prompting a safety monitor to call for support to get the car moving again. The cars also appear at times
disoriented by police lights.
Robotaxis have also been filmed
speeding,
running over curbs, and
braking erratically, with
one coming to a complete stop due to a shopping bag that was floating in the roadway. One viral incident
showed a Robotaxi failing to detect a UPS truck that was reversing in its direction, leading the safety monitor to press a manual button that stopped the Tesla's advance moments before a collision could occur. In a separate ride, the safety monitor had to move to the driver's seat to
take over the car. (The use of safety monitors, while clearly necessary, contradicts a promise Musk made to analysts and investors in January. "Teslas will be in the wild, with no one in them, in June, in Austin," he claimed at the time.)
In a statement, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
said it is "aware of the referenced incidents and is in contact with the manufacturer to gather additional information." Austin's transportation department
saidon Thursday that it reported its first "safety concern" involving a Robotaxi. The incident was traced back to a Robotaxi that slammed on its brakes after approaching police vehicles that were outside its driving path.
Many of the riders chosen to participate in the Robotaxi beta are Tesla investors and fans of Musk. Rides can be requested through a Robotaxi app and may be denied during inclement weather. Tesla is charging riders a flat fee of $4.20, a number famous for — among other things — Musk's false claim that he had secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 per share.
After years of blown deadlines, Tesla this week finally launched a severely restricted and heavily supervised version of its Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas.
www.muskwatch.com