Sometimes, even the smartest tech hits a snag. A Tesla robotaxi recently bumped into a parked car in Austin, Texas. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt, and the car didn’t suffer much damage.
Robotaxis: Learning on the Job
A YouTuber named DirtyTesla shared a video of the incident. In the clip, a self-driving Model Y had just dropped off a passenger. It was trying to leave a dark alley when it bumped into a Toyota’s tire. A safety driver was watching and quickly took over control of the car.
Tesla’s robotaxi service launched in Austin only two weeks before this event. They started with a small fleet of cars. It’s still unclear why the Tesla hit the parked car instead of driving away smoothly.
Not the Only Bumps in the Road
This wasn’t the first strange thing reported about Tesla’s robotaxis. Other users testing the service have shared unusual experiences. For example, some cars have suddenly stopped for emergency lights that weren’t even on the road. Others briefly drove on the wrong side of a double solid line.
Tesla’s self-driving system mostly uses cameras and artificial intelligence. This is different from rivals like Waymo, which combine cameras with special laser sensors (lidar) and radar. However, Waymo isn’t free from its own incidents. One of their vehicles hit a telephone pole in Phoenix, Arizona. This led to them voluntarily calling back their entire fleet for checks. More recently, Waymo had to issue another recall. That was because their robotaxis were hitting road barriers that were hard for the system to see.
These small incidents are a natural part of a new technology growing up. They show that while self-driving cars are getting better, they are still learning the ropes. Creating truly autonomous vehicles is a big, tricky challenge.