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 incorrect with the autonomous automobile. On Thursday, CEO Elon Musk announced the monitor would now not be within the automobile, 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 easy. Electrek reported that, based mostly on social media movies, it seems that Tesla hasn’t really gotten rid of the security monitor. As an alternative, the corporate has seemingly merely moved the particular person right into a path automobile that follows the Robotaxi throughout its journey. A number of videos present Robotaxis being tailed by Tesla automobiles, suggesting that Tesla’s autonomous driving might not be as superior as the corporate would love it to look. 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, however it additionally hasn’t had an working public relations division in a few years.

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

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

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

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

In a vacuum, there’s nothing essentially incorrect with the concept of a path automobile for security functions—although it does look like a really inefficient strategy to function when you’re attempting to supply rides at scale. Nevertheless it’s the weaselly method that Musk has offered this alteration that offers it such a nasty style. Musk stated that the Robotaxis are driving “with no security monitor within the automobile.” That’s technically right. However the data that the security monitor remains to be concerned and able to probably intervene in each single trip undermines the concept Tesla has achieved some new, significant degree of autonomy.

The truth that security displays are nonetheless concerned at such a granular degree suggests Tesla remains 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 often 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 feel self-driving vehicles is basically a solved downside at this level,” he said earlier than claiming that Tesla’s Robotaxis will likely be “very widespread by the top of this yr throughout the U.S.” If that’s true, prepare for some main visitors jams contemplating each Tesla Robotaxi trip really 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.