Tesla Seems to Have Moved Its Robotaxi Security Displays to a Extra Sneaky Location

Tesla’s self-driving Robotaxis have been working in Austin, Texas, with a security monitor within the passenger seat, a skilled one that can intervene in case something goes fallacious with the autonomous car. On Thursday, CEO Elon Musk announced the monitor would not be within the automotive, which was positioned as a significant step ahead within the firm’s capabilities to function autonomously with out human intervention.

Seems, it’s not fairly that straightforward. Electrek reported that, primarily based on social media movies, it seems that Tesla hasn’t truly gotten rid of the security monitor. As an alternative, the corporate has seemingly merely moved the particular person right into a path automotive that follows the Robotaxi all through its journey. A number of videos present Robotaxis being tailed by Tesla autos, suggesting that Tesla’s autonomous driving will not be as superior as the corporate would love it to seem. Tesla, it ought to be famous, hasn’t confirmed whether or not or not it’s working path vehicles. The corporate didn’t reply to a request for remark on the time of publication, but it surely additionally hasn’t had an working public relations division in a few years.

My first unsupervised @robotaxi journey right here in Austin! Come together with me on this 1st expertise of driving round Austin with simply me within the automotive and within the again seat!

Congrats to the @Tesla_AI group! 🤠👍 pic.twitter.com/YVJ19zp2qZ

— Joe Tegtmeyer 🚀 🤠🛸😎 (@JoeTegtmeyer) January 22, 2026

In a video uploaded by Tesla fanatic Joe Tegtmeyer, he may be heard figuring out the “chase automotive” that’s following his journey in what he identifies as his “first unsupervised Robotaxi journey.” Tegtmeyer suggests the automotive is there for “validation,” which looks as if a pleasant method of claiming “being on scene in case something goes horribly fallacious.”

In a vacuum, there’s nothing essentially fallacious with the thought of a path automotive for security functions—although it does seem to be a really inefficient technique to function if you find yourself attempting to supply rides at scale. Nevertheless it’s the weaselly method that Musk has offered this modification that offers it such a nasty style. Musk stated that the Robotaxis are driving “with no security monitor within the automotive.” That’s technically appropriate. However the information that the security monitor continues to be concerned and able to probably intervene in each single journey undermines the concept that Tesla has achieved some new, significant stage of autonomy.

The truth that security screens are nonetheless concerned at such a granular stage suggests Tesla continues to be lightyears behind Waymo, which is at present working a fleet of round 2,500 vehicles with no human round to intervene bodily (although they do nonetheless have remote operators who can take over at any level). Tesla, in the meantime, is reportedly working about 80ish Robotaxis in total, and normally solely a handful on the identical time.

Regardless of this, Musk went on stage in Davos, Switzerland, on the World Financial Discussion board and claimed that Tesla has solved autonomy. “I believe self-driving vehicles is basically a solved drawback at this level,” he said earlier than claiming that Tesla’s Robotaxis will probably be “very widespread by the tip of this 12 months inside the U.S.” If that’s true, prepare for some main site visitors jams contemplating each Tesla Robotaxi journey truly places two vehicles on the street: the one getting you to your vacation spot and the one which makes certain you don’t burst into flames.