February 17, 2026
Bumper cars, but make it autonomous
Tesla Robotaxis Reportedly Crashing at a Rate That's 4x Higher Than Humans
Fans call it fender benders, critics cry cover‑up — comment war
TLDR: Tesla’s Austin robotaxis logged 14 crashes in about 800,000 miles—roughly four times an average driver’s rate by Tesla’s own metrics. Commenters split between “just minor bumps and bias” and “red flags and redactions,” with extra spice from duplicate-post policing and source‑chain snark, as safety claims face scrutiny.
New crash filings lit up the threads: Tesla’s robotaxis in Austin logged five new incidents, bringing the total to 14 in roughly 800,000 miles — about four times higher than the average U.S. driver by Tesla’s own yardstick. Low-speed bumps dominate the list (backing into objects, a 4 mph truck tap), plus a headline-grabber: a “bus hit the Tesla while it was stopped.” Tesla also redacted incident narratives in the federal database, unlike rivals, and a July crash was upgraded from “property damage only” to “Minor w/ Hospitalization.” Electrek’s report did the rounds, and the comments came swinging.
Pro‑Tesla voices say this is classic media pile-on: tiny scrapes everyone gets, now counted because robots can’t keep secrets. One user joked the writer “must have a huge short,” while another asked how many humans quietly kiss a bollard and never tell. Skeptics fired back that transparency matters, calling the redactions “cover‑up vibes” and pointing to the hospitalization update as a red flag. Meta-drama erupted too: “Round and round we go,” one commenter sighed about the source chain, while the HN dupe police linked to earlier threads (one, two).
Meanwhile, it’s not just Tesla under heat: the U.S. traffic safety agency is probing Waymo after a child was struck near a school and over school-bus stops. The vibe? A full-on autonomous pileup of stats, snark, and sirens — and nobody’s touching the brakes.
Key Points
- •Tesla reported five new robotaxi crashes in Austin, covering incidents from December 2025 and January.
- •The fleet has 14 total reported crashes since launching in Austin last June.
- •Electrek estimates the fleet surpassed 800,000 miles by mid-January, yielding ~1 crash per 57,000 miles.
- •Tesla’s Vehicle Safety Report cites average U.S. drivers have minor crashes every 229,000 miles and major collisions every 699,000 miles, implying the robotaxi rate is about 4x higher.
- •Tesla redacted NHTSA crash narratives citing confidentiality; NHTSA is also probing separate Waymo incidents, including striking a child and failing to stop for school buses.