Tesla Robotaxis on the hook for erratic driving on wrong side of the road

Road safety regulators in the US have been in touch with Tesla after footage surfaced online showing a Robotaxi randomly slamming on its brakes. Another video even showed one swerving onto the wrong side of the road.

On Sunday, Tesla’s long-awaited Robotaxi service finally made its soft launch in Austin, Texas. The autonomous Robotaxis taking to public roads are modified versions of the facelifted Tesla Model Y SUV.

However, within hours of the Robotaxi fleet taking to the streets, accounts began spilling out online concerning some of the dangerous exploits the self-driving vehicles were getting up to.

One video on YouTube shows a Robotaxi braking erratically after it passes several police cars at a crime scene, stopping at one point in the centre of a junction. Another shows the Robotaxi swerving around between lanes and even for a brief moment into oncoming traffic as it tries to ascertain the road layout.

With more and more reports pouring in, the US’ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released a statement saying that it is now “in contact with the manufacturer [Tesla] to gather additional information”.

For its part, Tesla has asked the NHTSA to withhold any information it provides. The firm has recently been battling in the courts over the separate issue of crash data, stating that it would suffer significant “financial harm” if the data were to be published.

Again, it’s worth reiterating that the Robotaxi programme is still in its pilot stage; the Cybercab previewed at the end of last year is yet to reach production, while the modified Model Ys used for the Texas pilot scheme currently have a supervisor sat in the front seat who can intervene if something goes wrong.

If you’re in the area and still want to give the Robotaxi a go after seeing the videos, the service charges a flat fee of $4.20. The Robotaxi isn’t the first service of its kind in Austin, though, as Google’s Waymo offers rides in modified autonomous Jaguar I-Paces in both Texas and San Francisco. Uber is also set to launch its own driverless taxi scheme in London next year.

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