Tesla ‘Robotaxis’ maintain crashing regardless of ‘security displays’

Based mostly on the most recent NHTSA report, Tesla’s ‘Robotaxis’ maintain crashing in Austin, Texas, regardless of ‘security displays’ stopping an unknown variety of crashes.

Beneath an NHTSA Standing Common Order SGO, automakers are required to report crashes involving their autonomous driving (ADS) and superior driver help methods (ADAS) inside 5 days of being notified of them.

For years, Tesla was solely reporting ADAS crashes, since, regardless of the names of its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving methods, they’re solely thought of stage 2 driver help methods.

For the reason that launch of the Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, the place Tesla moved the supervisor from the driving force’s seat to the passenger seat, it has now reported its first few crashes underneath the ADS reporting.

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Within the first month of operation in July, Tesla reported three crashes with its ‘Robotaxi’ service in Austin.

This week, NHTSA has up to date its crash report and revealed a 4th crash that occurred in September:

As we beforehand highlighted, with regards to each ADS and ADAS crash reporting, Tesla abuses the redacting capability and hides most details about its crashes, in contrast to most of its opponents.

Subsequently, we don’t have a lot details about this new crash, however it reportedly occurred in a parking zone and concerned a Tesla Robotaxi crashing right into a “fastened object,” leading to property harm.

What’s most attention-grabbing about this crash is that it comes as Tesla launched the primary bit of information about its Robotaxi program in Austin.

Throughout its earnings name final week, Tesla confirmed that the Robotaxi fleet has traveled 250,000 miles since its launch in late June.

Subsequently, Tesla Robotaxi presently crashes at a fee of about as soon as each 62,500 miles. That’s with a security monitor with a finger on a kill swap, able to cease the automobile always.

We’ve got no knowledge on how usually Tesla’s security displays forestall crashes in its robotaxis.

For comparability, the NHTSA report lists 1,267 crashes involving Waymo automobiles. Nevertheless, Waymo’s robotaxis have lined over 125 million absolutely driverless miles since inception. That’s a crash each 98,600 miles and with none onboard security monitor.

Electrek’s Take

That’s the issue with evaluating Tesla and Waymo.

A minimum of we will now clearly see that Waymo’s incident fee is way decrease than Tesla’s, however that’s with a security monitor in Tesla robotaxis that forestalls an untold variety of crashes.

The precise distinction may very well be 10x increased. We merely don’t know. Tesla has constantly refused to share any knowledge concerning disengagement or intervention charges.

It’s additionally truthful to notice that Waymo doesn’t redact details about crashes as a lot as Tesla does. Subsequently, we all know extra concerning the circumstances across the crashes, and plenty of of them, in truth, the bulk, level to the Waymo AI driver not being accountable. Over 125 million miles, crashes are inevitable, and we will see many examples of different drivers rear-ending and crashing into Waymo automobiles.

It is also the case with Tesla’s robotaxis, however we don’t know as Tesla redacts the information.

One factor is obvious: Tesla is method behind Waymo in autonomous driving security.