Newly unredacted Tesla Robotaxi crash reports submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveal at least two incidents where remote teleoperators—not the AI—crashed the vehicles. Both crashes happened in Austin, Texas.
In July 2025, a Tesla ADS got stuck trying to move forward on a street. A safety monitor called for backup, and a teleoperator took remote control to navigate the vehicle out of the jam. The operator drove up a curb and smashed into a metal fence.
In January, another Tesla ADS couldn't handle basic street navigation, so the teleoperator took control. The vehicle plowed straight into a temporary construction barricade at 9 mph, scraping the front-left fender and tire.
Tesla had kept crash descriptions redacted, claiming they were confidential business information. This week, the company released unredacted details on all 17 crashes recorded since launching the Robotaxi network last year, with no explanation given.
Tesla says the remote-control feature exists only to move vehicles stuck in awkward positions—staying under 10 mph to minimize damage. But when teleoperators keep hitting fences and barricades, the "self-driving" promise becomes harder to defend.
Most of the 17 reported crashes involved other vehicles hitting Tesla Robotaxis. The incidents with teleoperator errors complicate the narrative around autonomous vehicle safety.
