Tesla Robotaxi encounters setbacks before hitting the road, Austin protesters question safety

Just as Elon Musk announced that he would launch a pilot self-driving taxi service in Austin, Texas on June 22, local protesters had already sounded the alarm in advance. On Thursday local time, multiple public safety organizations and political groups gathered in downtown Austin, holding up signs that read "No self-driving taxis" to express strong resistance.

The protest, initiated by organizations such as "Dawn Project" and "Down with Tesla", directly pointed to the safety risks of Tesla's autonomous driving technology. A very impactful demonstration was staged on the scene: Model Y equipped with the latest version of the FSD system (2025.14.9) not only ignored the stop sign and drove past the school bus, but also ran over the child dummy placed in front of the car. The protest organization emphasized that the test proved that the existing system has fatal flaws.

These doubts are not groundless. According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Tesla's Autopilot and FSD systems have been involved in hundreds of collisions, dozens of which were fatal. Protester Stephanie Gomez made it clear: "We oppose Musk's political stance and have no confidence in his safety standards." Another protester, Sylvia Revillis, questioned: "Citizens have not been able to obtain complete safety test data so far, and Musk seems to think he is above the law."

It is noteworthy that Dan O'Dow, CEO of "Project Dawn", also runs a software company that provides technology to Tesla's competitors. Despite the rising protests, Tesla officials have not responded. Just this week, Musk just released a Model Y autonomous driving demonstration video equipped with a new version of FSD on a social platform. Whether this model, which is positioned as the future Robotaxi, can drive on the streets of Austin as scheduled is facing an unprecedented test of public trust.