Tesla Robotaxis crashing at four times the rate of human drivers – report

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Newly released safety data suggests that Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet in Austin, Texas is crashing about four times as often as cars driven by people.

Okay, so I’ve been following the Robotaxi thing, and it looks like there have been some more crashes. The latest reports to the NHTSA show five more incidents between December and January. That brings the total up to 14 crashes in Austin since the service first started back in June. It’s a little concerning, honestly, to see that many reports piling up.

Based on Tesla’s reported safety data – which suggests the average U.S. driver has a minor crash every 229,000 miles and a major one every 699,000 miles – the Robotaxi fleet seems to be getting into accidents much more often.

Five new crashes added to federal filings

Electrek reports that all five recent crashes involved Tesla Model Ys using the company’s self-driving system. One crash initially reported as minor property damage was later found to have caused injuries requiring hospitalization.

A breakdown of reports issued to the NHTSA for the Tesla Model Y model involved in the five crash reports.

Okay, so I’ve been looking into these Tesla crashes reported to the NHTSA, and it’s super frustrating. A lot of the reports are heavily censored, which makes it hard to figure out exactly what happened in each case. It’s a real contrast to companies like Waymo, who are much more open about the details when their self-driving cars are involved in accidents. They actually publish pretty thorough summaries, which is helpful if you’re trying to understand what’s going on with this tech.

Tesla hasn’t publicly commented on the recent data. Their Robotaxi service began in 2025 with a standard fare of $4.20, but the price has gone up since then.

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2026-02-18 15:19