Tesla suspected of concealing details of an accident involving a robotaxi (1 photo)

Some data in the automaker's accident reports was classified—the company considers the information confidential.



Under current US law, all automakers must notify NHTSA within five days of accidents involving vehicles equipped with SAE Level 3–5 autonomous driving systems. Electrek.co reports that until recently, Tesla did not notify the regulatory agency of accidents, but this has changed since the launch of robotaxis.

In July alone, the first full month of robotaxis operation, Tesla reported three accidents involving these vehicles. At that time, the company's taxi fleet consisted of approximately 12 Model Y electric cars, which were operating in specific areas of Austin and only transporting a limited group of users—the ride-hailing app had not yet been made publicly available.

In Tesla's reports to NHTSA, some information is marked confidential. However, at least one of the three accidents resulted in one injury. Electrek.co reports that these accidents are not being investigated and the extent of the autonomous system's liability is not being assessed. For comparison, they cite accident reports involving other autonomous vehicles, the details of which are publicly available.

Elon Musk promised that by the end of 2025, his robotaxi will be transporting passengers without a human operator. Currently, an operator is present, but they sit in the front passenger seat, not the driver, and do not interfere with the driving process.