{
  "id": 1979297,
  "title": "Tesla Robotaxi With No Driver Spotted Smashing Through Traffic Barriers",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/tesla-robotaxi-with-no-driver-spotted-smashing-through-traffic",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-19T17:03:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Futurism",
    "slug": "futurism",
    "url": "https://futurism.com/advanced-transport/tesla-robotaxi-no-driver-bollards"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Like a confused robot, a Tesla Robotaxi with no driver crashed through several plastic bollards, as captured in a video uploaded on Monday to the r/SelfDrivingCars subreddit. The incident was first noticed by Electrek. A front passenger in the Tesla shared their growing concern on the video, exclaiming, \"It’s going through bollards.\" The self-driving car had initially driven into a curb extension marked by the bollards, mistaking it for a right turn lane. As it attempted to turn onto the next street, it became trapped and the passenger warned, \"Don’t do that!\" The Tesla then froze for about a minute, occasionally adjusting the steering wheel and lightly applying the brakes before deciding to drive straight through the barriers. The plastic barriers, designed to protect pedestrians, luckily withstood the impact. The passenger was utterly shocked, shouting, \"Holy sh*t.\" This collision raises concerns about the Robotaxi software's decision-making process, as the vehicle turned into a closed lane and failed to reverse out of an off-limits area despite detecting the bollards. It remains unclear if Tesla's remote teleoperators intervened in this incident. This strange event comes a month after Tesla's official X account boasted that the Robotaxis had had \"0 notable incidents across 380,000 miles traveled,\" despite the vehicles being observed driving recklessly. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has claimed the company is \"paranoid about safety,\" but the robotaxi service appears to be regressing, with fewer miles traveled by paying customers and only a dozen or so cars offering unsupervised rides.",
  "summary": "\"It ran through the bollards. Holy sh*t.\" The post Tesla Robotaxi With No Driver Spotted Smashing Through Traffic Barriers appeared first on Futurism .",
  "key_points": [
    "Tesla Robotaxi crashed through plastic bollards in video.",
    "Passenger expressed shock at robotaxi's reckless behavior.",
    "Incident raises concerns about robotaxi's decision-making."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}