A Tesla robotaxi in Austin drove through bollards with passengers on board
A Tesla Model Y robotaxi in Austin, Texas, drove onto a fenced-off area next to the roadway while carrying passengers and slowly drove through flexible plastic bollards. In a video posted by a Reddit user going by the handle bladerskb, it is clear that the driver’s seat and front passenger seat were empty.
According to Motor1, the car turned toward a triangular curb extension separated from the roadway by flexible bollards. The robotaxi stopped in front of them, slowly moved forward a few times and stopped again, but did not reverse. Eventually, the car hit the bollards, bent them, and continued down the street.
According to the publication, no one was injured as a result. The bollards are designed to deform upon contact with a vehicle, so the damage was likely limited to scratches on the plastic. These structures have been installed on this section of the street since at least early 2024.
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The video surfaced following a statement by Tesla’s Vice President of Artificial Intelligence, Ashok Eluswami, during a conference call summarizing the second quarter of 2026. According to him, the company’s robotaxis have traveled over 380,000 miles in driverless service across six cities in two states without any significant incidents.
Motor1 also notes that 14 Tesla vehicles were operating without human supervision in June, down from a previous peak of 25. At the same time, according to the publication, the company filed 22 incident reports with federal regulators regarding automated driving systems. Tesla plans to first launch rides in the two-seater Cybercab for employees in Austin and then expand the service.
