First Crash Involving a Tesla Robotaxi

A Tesla Robotaxi was involved in its first-ever collision over the weekend. The incident occurred when the Robotaxi unexpectedly turned and lightly bumped into a parked car. Fortunately, the damage appeared to be minor or negligible. It was anticipated that such an event would eventually occur, but the unique part was how fittingly characteristic it was of Tesla. During the July 4 holiday weekend, Tesla's highly promoted vision-only Robotaxi program officially had its initial crash. Strangely, the Robotaxi nudged a parked car rather gently, making a turn without moving or merging. The collision was recounted by a Tesla influencer known as Chris (DirtyTesla online), who had been testing the Robotaxi program and shared his experiences. He captured the incident on video and posted it on YouTube. Chris shared that the Robotaxi encountered difficulties navigating into a parking lot, eventually dropping him off at the entrance. The video showed the Tesla unexpectedly turning its wheels and moving towards a parked Toyota Camry, resulting in a minor impact. Although initially, it was believed that the safety driver had intervened in time, it was later clarified that the vehicle lightly touched the Camry's door before coming to a halt. This incident, although minor, was significant as the first observed incident involving Tesla's Robotaxi program, occurring shortly after its limited pilot launch. With Tesla's focus on remote teleoperators and safety preparedness, there is room for improvement to avoid such avoidable collisions in the future.