Unredacted NHTSA data shows Tesla robotaxis teleoperator crashes

Newly unredacted NHTSA crash data points to at least two Tesla robotaxi incidents since July 2025 where vehicles were being remotely driven by teleoperators rather than solely relying on on-board systems. The crashes occurred in Austin, Texas—where Tesla began

When Tesla’s robotaxis ran into trouble in Austin, the incidents didn’t stay fully contained to automated driving.. Newly unredacted data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) suggests at least two Tesla robotaxi crashes since July 2025 happened while the vehicles were being remotely driven by teleoperators.

The regulator’s expectation is straightforward: all self-driving car companies are supposed to report crashes to the NHTSA. Tesla, though, had asked regulators to redact parts of its crash data, citing confidential business information, until these portions were unredacted.

Both incidents took place in Austin, Texas, where Tesla first began offering robotaxi rides in June 2025. In each crash, a safety monitor was behind the wheel, and there were no passengers onboard.

In one crash from July 2025, TechCrunch reports that after a safety monitor requested assistance, a remote operator took over. The operator then increased the speed of the robotaxi and drove it “up the curb and made contact with a metal fence.”

The second incident, dated January 2026, followed a similar pattern. TechCrunch says a remote operator assumed control and “made contact with a temporary barricade for a construction site at approximately 9MPH.”

Tesla has previously told lawmakers that it uses remote operators to drive its robotaxis.. The company first shared that capability in March 2025.. While remote monitoring is common in the broader industry. the difference in Tesla’s approach—at least in the reported crashes—is that teleoperators can be driving the car rather than simply consulting with the software.

Not every Tesla crash described in the reporting involved teleoperators.. TechCrunch also spotted two separate crashes where Tesla robotaxis accidentally clipped mirrors on other vehicles.. In another instance. a robotaxi was unable to avoid hitting a dog that ran into the street. though the dog survived.

The safety questions are landing alongside operational complaints about how difficult it can be to use the service.. Based on a Reuters report, Tesla’s robotaxi offering is also struggling with long wait times.. A Reuters reporter using the service in Dallas on a recent Monday afternoon spent nearly two hours to complete what typically would be a 20-minute drive from the campus of Southern Methodist University to Dallas City Hall—about 5 miles (8.05 km) south on a major freeway.

Reporters also noted that some robotaxi trips would drop riders about 15 minutes away from their destination, even when the desired drop-off point was within Tesla’s coverage area.

Waymo, the other major name in commercial robotaxi services, is also dealing with crash and software issues.. Still. the continued problems in Tesla’s service raise questions about how quickly it can move past early-stage reliability challenges and operate at the scale many riders expect from its closest competitor.

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