It seems, at least for now, that Tesla’s autonomous vehicles are driving worse than the average driver. The initial statistics on Robotaxi show that they get into accidents more frequently. According to NHTSA, in the US, drivers average an accident roughly every 500,000 miles. Even if these figures are adjusted to be more realistic, they still do not compare to Tesla’s rates.
From July to November 2025, there were reports from NHTSA of nine accidents involving autonomous Model Y vehicles operating in Austin as part of the driverless taxi project. Combined, during this time, Tesla cars covered approximately the same 500,000 miles, making it easy to calculate that they are roughly nine times more likely to get into accidents. Naturally, in reality, humans do get into accidents more often, as NHTSA’s stats consider only registered cases. Yet, the difference with Tesla is striking.
Details of Each Incident
The authors superficially describe all nine cases:
- November 2025: Collision while turning right.
- October 2025: Incident at a speed of 18 mph.
- September 2025: Hit an animal at a speed of 27 mph.
- September 2025: Collision with a cyclist.
- September 2025: Rear collision while reversing (6 mph).
- September 2025: Collision with a stationary object in a parking lot.
- July 2025: Collision with an SUV in a construction zone.
- July 2025: Collision with a stationary object, resulting in minor injuries.
- July 2025: Collision while turning right with an SUV.
