Elon Musk's decade-long ambition to launch a fully autonomous taxi service suffered a series of embarrassing and potentially dangerous errors during its debut in Austin, Texas, on Sunday. The Tesla Robotaxi service, using the company's Model Y SUV, was restricted to a small geofenced area of the city, but even within that limited zone, the vehicles exhibited multiple safety lapses.
Passengers recorded incidents including the car driving on the wrong side of the road, stopping in busy intersections to let riders out, and halting in the middle of the street when a police car was nearby. One Robotaxi attempted a left turn that was not part of the route, causing it to drive the wrong way down a street. Another vehicle stopped in an active intersection after a passenger requested an early drop-off, and then appeared to suffer a computer freeze, blocking traffic.
Despite these setbacks, Musk congratulated his artificial intelligence team on a 'successful' rollout. However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced it was investigating the videos showing the self-driving SUVs breaking traffic laws. Tesla reportedly told NHTSA that its responses should be kept confidential as business information.
The Robotaxis had an in-vehicle supervisor and a remote driver who could intervene if necessary. The test rides cost $4.20 each. The launch highlights the challenges facing Musk's driverless dream, with safety regulators now scrutinising the service.
