Tesla launched its robotaxi service over the weekend, with only a small number of cars and heavy human supervision on and off the road. While less impressive than previously promised, the company’s caution ultimately seems for the best — at least one robotaxi attempted to drive on the wrong side of the road, based on a video posted to X and spotted by Bloomberg.
The ride video shared by Rob Maurer is largely uneventful, with the Tesla navigating turns and lane merges with few issues. Except for around seven minutes or so into the ride, when the Tesla’s wheel starts jerking back and forth and the car briefly crosses onto the wrong side of the road. As Bloomberg notes, “a honking horn can be heard as the Tesla re-enters the correct lane over a double-yellow line, which drivers aren’t supposed to cross.”
The Tesla may have corrected itself on its own or under the influence of someone monitoring the ride remotely, but the in-car supervisor didn’t appear to do anything. That’s not the only instance of potentially unsafe driving Bloomberg spotted. Early riders have shared multiple instances of robotaxis going over the speed limit, though that might be more of a reflection of the cars driving around Tesla’s vehicles than their collective need for speed. Waymo, which also operates in Austin, strictly follows the posted speed limit as a rule.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system has been heavily criticized in anticipation of the company’s robotaxi launch and the eventual introduction of its Cybercab, which doesn’t have a steering wheel. Earlier in June, The Dawn Project staged a demonstration showing a self-driving Tesla plowing through child-sized mannequins eight times in a row. The company’s Full Self-Driving system is also currently being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over its involvement in four different crashes.
