Video Shows Tesla "Safety Monitor" Hitting Panic Button as Robotaxi Becomes Confused on Public Road

Tesla's extremely questionable Robotaxi launch has already seen some of its cars violate traffic laws.

Now, new footage shows a Tesla robotaxi screwing up so badly that its human "safety monitor" is forced to hit the panic button — which is actually a touchscreen menu, in true tech industry fashion — heaping even more scrutiny onto the self-driving vehicles' capabilities.

The footage, spotted by Teslarati, was taken by pro-Tesla influencer and investor Dave Lee. In it, the modified Model Y is about to reach the passenger drop-off location, but as it turns to pull over, it fails to recognize that a large UPS truck with its backup lights on is reversing into the same spot. On the verge of rear-ending the truck, the safety monitor avoids a collision by quickly tapping the "Stop In Lane" button on the infotainment screen, bringing the vehicle to a halt. Bravo, human!

This is the first intervention we’ve seen with Robotaxi (via @heydave7): https://t.co/5mp431Z5P8 pic.twitter.com/B9ji3iLa3a

— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 24, 2025

According to Teslarati, this was the first look we got at a full-blown intervention by one of the safety monitors.

There's been no shortage of other blunders, though, that are just as alarming. A video uploaded earlier this week showed a robotaxi suddenly start jerking the steering wheel side to side while driving through an intersection, before illegally crossing the road's solid double yellow lines to barge into a left turn lane. Several other videos show robotaxis clearly exceeding the speed limit, including one instance in which a robotaxi cruised through a 15 mile per hour zone at a blistering 27 miles per hour.

Incidents like these have already attracted the attention of federal regulators. As Bloomberg reported, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reached out to Tesla to gather information regarding the incidents where the robotaxis appeared to violate traffic laws. The agency, however, has not initiated a formal investigation.

"Following an assessment of those reports and other relevant information, NHTSA will take any necessary actions to protect road safety," the NHTSA said in a statement Monday, per Bloomberg.

Bear in mind that it's been less than a week since Tesla began its limited robotaxi rollout. For this many issues to crop up already should give anyone pause, given that there are only ten to 20 of these vehicles on the road, limited to a tiny geofenced area where the driving conditions are as ideal as possible. It's also worth noting that the riders chosen to test the cab service are almost exclusively Tesla fanboys who aren't likely to be critical about the company — so you have to wonder what they aren't showing us. 

In the end, it's undoubtedly a good thing that a human "safety monitor" was present in this latest incident and others — which contradicts Elon Musk's promise that his robotaxis would be "unsupervised" — but based on Tesla's track record, it sure seems like they're being used to gloss over what's clearly still very faulty tech.

More on Tesla: Tesla Stock in Tailspin After Error-Plagued Robotaxi Debut

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