Five Tesla crashes recorded in the US during remote control — Electrek

Five collisions involving robotaxis were recorded in Tesla reports to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), during which remote operators took control of the vehicles. According to Electrek, a collision occurred after remote takeover of control in each of these cases.

Two new incidents occurred in August and were included in NHTSA’s September data release. In Dallas, a Model Y stopped on a residential street between a concrete mixer truck and a parked SUV. A remote operator took control, and while moving forward, the vehicle collided with the SUV at a speed of about 0.4 mph. There were no passengers in the vehicle.

Two new cases

Another case occurred in Austin: a remote operator controlled a Model Y moving through an alley between a utility pole and a dumpster. The vehicle collided with the dumpster at a speed of about 1 mph. Both new incidents reported property damage only, and there were no passengers in the cabin.

Both reports are marked with the driver or operator type “Remote (Commercial / Test),” meaning remote control during commercial use or testing. In total, Tesla has 36 separate reports of robotaxi incidents, compared with 22 when the publication last analyzed the data in July.

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Other recorded collisions

Another of the five cases was a May collision between a Tesla robotaxi and a tree stump in Houston. In July 2025 in Austin, a safety operator was unable to make the vehicle continue moving, after which a remote operator took control, accelerated, turned left, and drove the vehicle onto a curb and into a metal fence at a speed of 8 mph.

In January 2026 in Austin, a remote operator took control to assist with navigation, after which the vehicle collided with a construction barrier at a speed of 9 mph. Tesla does not disclose how often remote operators intervene in robotaxi operations, making it impossible to assess the frequency of such incidents.

Waymo’s approach

In a letter to Senator Ed Markey in February 2026, Waymo said it had not used remote control in which a person performs the dynamic driving task. Its remote employees can provide recommendations to the system, which it can accept or reject.

Waymo also described a narrow exception: a trained employee can move a blocked vehicle forward at speeds of up to 2 mph with fixed steering angles to clear a traffic lane. According to the company, this tool has not been used outside training.