--- title: "Tesla Robotaxis Crashing Vastly More Often Than Human Drivers" description: "Tesla's incredible Robotaxis really like colliding into stuff, while Tesla really doesn't like reporting them in time." date: "2026-02-18" modified: "2026-02-18" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/advanced-transport/tesla-robotaxis-crashing-more-human-drivers" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Self-Driving Vehicles" - "Tesla" --- # Tesla Robotaxis Crashing Vastly More Often Than Human Drivers ![White Tesla with black wheels and "Robotaxi" written on the side, featuring a distorted front end against a red grid background with a blue circle behind the car.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Jay Janner / Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images* The ostensible point of robotaxis is that they're supposed to be safer drivers than humans. Tesla, apparently, didn't get that memo. According to updated filings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [examined by *Electrek*](), the Elon Musk-owned automaker has reported another five crashes involving its capital-R "Robotaxis," for a total of 14 documented collisions since the service began operating in Austin, Texas last June. The newly reported crashes were submitted by Tesla last month and occurred between December 2025 and January 2026. They include a collision with a fixed object at 17 miles per hour, a crash with a bus while the Robotaxi was stationary, a crash with a truck at four miles per hour, and two incidents in which the Tesla backed into a pole or tree. Because Tesla heavily censors its crash reports, it's impossible to get a clear idea of what happened in any of these incidents. No amount of blank ink, however, can cover the fact that the Robotaxis are getting into accidents at a high rate — a rate, *Electrek* calculates, that's not only worse than its competitors, but the fallible human drivers it's supposed to outmode. Based on the mileage data shared in Tesla's Q4 2025 earnings, the EV blog estimates that the Robotaxi fleet accumulated roughly 800,000 miles by mid-January. Divide that by fourteen, and that works out to a crash once every 57,000 miles. Compare that to Tesla's Vehicle Safety Report, which claims that the average American driver experiences a minor collision every 229,000 miles, and it means the Robotaxis are crashing at a rate four times higher than human motorists. It looks even worse when you compare Tesla's fleet to Waymo's, a company that Musk [constantly tries]() to [pick fights with](), insisting that his self-driving cars are superior. Across over 127 million fully driverless miles, Waymo averages an accident around every 98,000 miles. Even this already sizable gap may slightly flatter Tesla. In reality, Waymo's fleet comprises over 2,000 robotaxis, while Tesla has less than fifty. Waymo operates in several major US cities, while Tesla is limited to a small area of just one. And though it's been vague about [how much it relies on remote teleoperation](), Waymo cars are considered fully driverless, meaning there's no human driver or safety monitor inside the vehicle. Or for that matter, outside it: Tesla [reportedly resorted]() to having a human-driven car tail its Robotaxis to fulfill a Musk boast that the service would start giving rides with no supervisor in the cabs. In short, Waymo and Tesla aren't in the same league. The new crashes weren't the only alarming takeaway in the updated NHTSA data. Tesla also quietly revised a report for a July 2025 crash that was originally described as causing "property damage only." Now, a new version submitted in December said that the injury severity was "Minor W/Hospitalization." It took Tesla nearly half a year to properly report that someone was hurt by one of its cars. The delay isn't an isolated incident. The NHTSA previously [launched an investigation]() into Tesla for repeatedly failing to report crashes in time, sometimes several months after the accidents occurred. It also [heavily censors its reports]() by redacting crucial details like crash narrative under the guise of protecting "confidential business information." The practice is legal, but shady. As *Electrek* notes, it's the only robotaxi company that systematically censors these details in all of its NHTSA filings. **More on Tesla:** [*FSD Tries to Drive Straight Into Lake*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()