Teleoperator Involvement in Robotaxi Incidents
Newly unredacted crash reports from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have revealed that at least two Tesla Robotaxi crashes in Austin, Texas, involved human teleoperators actively controlling the vehicles from off-site. These incidents mark the first confirmed cases where Tesla's remote-driving safety backstop, intended to assist in complex situations, became a source of error. Both crashes resulted in property damage but no injuries to passengers, as no passengers were onboard at the time.
One incident in July 2025 saw a teleoperator steer a Model Y into a metal fence at 8 mph after the autonomous driving system failed to proceed. This particular crash also resulted in one minor injury requiring hospitalization, according to the dataset. A second incident in January 2026 involved a teleoperator-driven Robotaxi colliding with a temporary construction barricade at approximately 9 mph during a low-speed maneuver. These events occurred in Austin, where Tesla launched its robotaxi service in June 2025.