The footage shared by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on social media has contacted Tesla after it appears to indicate its newly issued driverless cars violate traffic laws.
The company’s long-awaited robot — the core of Tesla’s future — said owner Elon Musk, who made the first attempt on public roads in Austin, Texas on Sunday.
Videos posted online appear to show vehicles with safety drivers driving unstable in passenger seats.
NHTSA said in a statement that it “aware of the reference event and contacted manufacturers to collect other information.”
The BBC has contacted Tesla for comment.
Although Musk is very important in his Robotaxi project, Sunday’s release is still low-key.
A small group invited analysts, influential people and shareholders to participate in paid rides.
Musk congratulated Tesla’s AI and chip design team in his post on X, writing that it was “the climax of a decade of hard work.”
However, social media footage seems to show the vehicle struggling with real-world driving.
A video appears to show a robot suddenly stopping through a parked police car.
TechCrunch said the car could also be seen speeding and turning to the wrong lane.
The promotion is limited to 12 taxis, and Tesla says they won’t operate in bad weather, trying difficult intersections or bringing customers under 18.
Analysts have said that the small-scale launch shows how far Tesla must go to catch up with its competitors.
Owned by Google parents Alphabet and Amazon’s Zoox, Waymo already offers self-driving taxis in Austin as well as in San Francisco, California and Phoenix, Arizona.
The fully driverless cars also travel millions of miles on public roads in other countries, including China, the UAE and Singapore, but they are still investigating whether they are conducting the survey more than human-driven.
Tesla relies on radars and sensors used by current market leaders to use different competitors than its competitors.
The bet is that its approach will be cheaper and therefore will eventually be more attractive to consumers.
However, questions about its security have been asked.
NHTSA stressed that under the law, “there is no pre-approval of new technology or vehicle systems – rather, manufacturers prove that each vehicle complies with the NHTSA’s strict safety standards, and the agency investigates incidents involving potential safety defects.”
