Tesla’s robotaxis are operating in a regulatory vacuum

A conveyance Tesla is utilizing for robotaxi investigating purposes connected Oltorf Street successful Austin, Texas, connected Sunday, June 22nd, 2025. | Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images

This week, Tesla launched its long-promised robotaxi work successful Austin, and astir instantly its vehicles were caught fucking up.

In a YouTube video, a Tesla robotaxi concisely drives connected the incorrect broadside of the road. Another video shared by Ed Niedermeyer, the writer of a publication astir Tesla's origins, shows a robotaxi braking hard successful the mediate of the road successful effect to stationary constabulary vehicles that were not successful its contiguous driving path. And a 3rd captures a robotaxi dropping disconnected its passengers successful the mediate of a engaged intersection.

Typically, erstwhile a driverless conveyance makes a mistake oregon is progressive successful a crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launches an investigation. And that's conscionable what happened yesterday, erstwhile the bureau released a connection to Bloomberg that said it was reviewing the incidental and would "take immoderate indispensable actions to support roadworthy safety."

That whitethorn permission you with the content that Tesla has been enactment connected notice. One much mistake, 1 much adjacent call, and NHTSA volition bring the smackdown. Except that's not truly what …

Read the afloat communicative astatine The Verge.