Federal safety filings documented 17 automated driving system incidents involving Tesla's Robotaxi testing in Austin between July 2025 and March 2026, providing a detailed record of how the vehicles performed during supervised operation. The disclosures came through crash narratives submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The injury breakdown was relatively mild across the reported events. Of the 17 incidents, 13 resulted in property damage only, two reported no injuries, one involved a minor injury without hospitalization, and one, the most serious, involved a minor injury requiring hospitalization. In that case a Tesla creeping forward at 2 miles per hour in a turn slip lane was rear-ended, and the safety monitor later reported pain and sought medical evaluation.

Two crashes occurred when a remote teleoperator took control, including a July 2025 event in which the vehicle drove up a curb and into a metal fence at 8 miles per hour. Analysis published in 2026 argued that, by the company's own crash-per-mile figures, the robotaxis performed several times worse than human drivers over the testing period.

Other autonomous operators drew scrutiny as well. Regulators opened an investigation into 16 crashes involving a separate autonomous vehicle developer in Dallas and Austin, citing alleged system failures such as unsafe lane changes. The filings added to oversight of driverless ride-hailing as more vehicles entered public roads.

Source: Fortune - https://fortune.com/2026/02/26/tesla-robotaxis-4x-8x-worse-than-humans-at-driving-safety-record-crashes/