U.S. traffic safety regulators have launched an inquiry into Elon Musk’s self-driving “robotaxi” trials in Texas following viral videos showing Teslas braking abruptly, veering down the wrong side of the road, and crossing intersections from incorrect lanes.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) confirmed on Tuesday that it has contacted Tesla for more details about the incidents. Although other clips show the robotaxis functioning smoothly, any significant findings from the inquiry could raise concerns over Musk’s repeated assurances about the technology's safety and his ambitious vision of an autonomous future dominated by Tesla vehicles — potentially without steering wheels or drivers.
“NHTSA is aware of the referenced incidents and is in contact with the manufacturer to gather additional information,” the agency said in a statement.
Passengers testing Tesla robotaxis on Austin roads have generally reported positive experiences, and Tesla’s stock price rose by 8% on Monday. However, news of the federal inquiry caused the stock to fall more than 2% on Tuesday.
Tesla has yet to comment publicly.
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Dan Ives, a bullish Tesla analyst at Wedbush Securities who experienced a flawless ride during Sunday’s launch of the test program, dismissed the concerning footage circulating on platforms like X and YouTube.
“Any issues they encounter will be fixed,” Ives said, calling the test program a “huge success” over the past three days “despite the skeptics.”
One such skeptic, vehicle technology expert Sam Abuelsamid of Telemetry Insight, argued the footage was worrying enough to pause public testing altogether.
“The system has always had highly erratic performance, working really well a lot of the time but frequently making random and inconsistent but dangerous errors,” Abuelsamid wrote in a message. “This is not a system that should be carrying members of the public or being tested on public roads without trained test drivers behind the wheel.”
One widely shared video shows a Tesla entering a left-turn-only lane, but instead of turning, it drives straight through the intersection and into an oncoming lane. The vehicle then swerves several times, with the steering wheel jerking back and forth, before stabilizing.
The car proceeds down the wrong side of the road for around 10 seconds. Luckily, no oncoming vehicles were present.
The passenger who filmed the incident, money manager Rob Maurer, downplayed the situation.
“There are no vehicles anywhere in sight, so this wasn’t a safety issue,” Maurer said in his video commentary. “I didn’t feel uncomfortable in the situation.”
Another video shows a Tesla braking suddenly in the middle of the road, possibly reacting to the flashing lights of parked police cars, though the officers appeared to be handling a separate matter nearby.
NHTSA has been monitoring Tesla’s autonomous technology closely. The agency launched an investigation last year into how Teslas with Musk’s so-called Full Self-Driving system performed in low-visibility conditions, following several crashes — one of them fatal. Tesla had to recall 2.4 million vehicles at the time.
Musk insists his Full Self-Driving Teslas are safer than human drivers, and he claims the upgraded robotaxi system will be so reliable that hundreds of thousands will be deployed by the end of next year.
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Despite the Austin trials, Musk faces stiff competition. Rivals such as Amazon-owned Zoox and Waymo — the current leader in self-driving taxis — have already launched services in multiple cities. Waymo recently announced it had completed its 10 millionth paid ride.
Musk is under pressure to deliver a robotaxi breakthrough. His recent role in the Trump administration as a cost-cutting czar has alienated Tesla’s core buyer base, traditionally made up of liberal, environmentally conscious Americans, contributing to declining sales. European markets have also cooled after Musk publicly supported far-right politicians in Britain and Germany earlier this year.
Source: Agency