For many years, Musk has promoted Tesla’s ‘Full Self Driving’ system as a growth catalyst that will enable a fleet of robotaxis to generate income for both the company and Tesla owners by using parked electric vehicles, with the system currently being tested on public roads by thousands of owners since its hardware went on sale in late 2015. (Source: Image by RR)

NHTSA Documents 75 Crashes, One Death Involving Tesla’s Self-Driving System

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed on Monday that the unveiling event for the company’s highly anticipated robotaxi will be delayed beyond its scheduled August 8 date. In a post on X, the social media platform Musk owns, he did not provide a new date for the event but mentioned that he requested a design change to the vehicle’s front. He added that the additional time would allow Tesla to showcase a few other features as well. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that the robotaxi event would be postponed until October due to the changes Musk sought, causing Tesla shares to drop by 8% that day. According to a story in apnews.com, Tesla’s stock has since rebounded, closing up 1.8% at $252.64 on Monday. Despite being down more than 40% earlier in the year, Tesla shares have surged over 80% since reaching a 52-week low in April.

For years, Musk has asserted that Tesla’s “Full Self Driving” system will enable a fleet of robotaxis to generate revenue for the company and Tesla owners by utilizing the vehicles when they would otherwise be parked. Since the “Full Self Driving” hardware went on sale in late 2015, Musk has promoted self-driving vehicles as a significant growth catalyst for Tesla. The system is currently being tested on public roads by thousands of Tesla owners.

However, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has identified 75 crashes and one death involving the “Full Self Driving” system in its investigative documents. It remains unclear whether the system was at fault in these incidents. Tesla, based in Austin, Texas, has stated that the system cannot drive itself and that human drivers must be ready to take control at all times.

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