Tesla Robotaxi in Austin Crashes Through Barriers After Detecting Obstacles, Keeps Driving
A Tesla driverless Robotaxi in Austin, Texas, crashed through a row of plastic barriers at an intersection and continued driving after multiple stops, slow advances, and reversing maneuvers, despite having detected the obstacles. No safety driver was present and a passenger filmed the incident. The barriers had been in place since at least February 2024. Separately, on July 22, Tesla AI Vice President Ashok Elluswamy said Robotaxi had completed over 380,000 miles of unsupervised driving across six cities in two states with no notable accidents.
Recently, a Tesla driverless Robotaxi traveling in Austin, Texas, detected obstacles ahead, but after multiple stops, slow advances, and reversing maneuvers, it still crashed through a row of plastic barriers at an intersection and continued driving. No safety driver was in the driver's seat at the time, and a passenger in the vehicle filmed the entire incident. The video shows the vehicle made several adjustment attempts in front of the obstacles before ultimately entering the closed area.
Based on buildings visible in the video, internet users identified the intersection using map services, and street view data shows the barriers had been in place at that location since at least February 2024. The available video cannot confirm why the vehicle made this decision, nor can it be determined from the footage alone whether the incident was related to the perception system. The vehicle had stopped multiple times in front of the barriers, indicating its system had detected and responded to the obstacles ahead. Tesla's Robotaxi uses cameras to perceive the road environment, differing from autonomous driving approaches that rely on high-definition maps. Current information is insufficient to confirm whether the vehicle misread the lane layout or whether a remote operator intervened.
On July 22 local time, during Tesla's release of its second-quarter 2026 results and earnings call, Tesla AI Vice President Ashok Elluswamy said Robotaxi had completed more than 380,000 miles of unsupervised driving across six cities in two states, stating that no notable accidents had occurred and describing the safety record as impeccable. Tesla has previously submitted multiple incident reports related to its autonomous driving systems to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, but whether this incident meets reporting requirements and will appear in regulatory data requires confirmation from subsequent information.