In a notable deviation from its typical media strategy, Tesla has issued a pointed rebuttal to a recent Washington Post article criticizing Autopilot. This response is rare for Tesla, which generally remains silent in the face of media critique. The company's statement begins emphatically: "While there are many articles that do not accurately convey the nature of our safety systems, the recent Washington Post article is particularly egregious in its misstatements and lack of relevant context."
According to Tesla, the misrepresentation starts in the story's second paragraph. The Post states the driver of a Tesla who caused a crash in Key Largo in 2019 said he was “driving on cruise,” but that wasn’t the end of his statement. He continued, “I expect to be the driver and be responsible for this.” The Post had the driver's statements to police, reports, and statements made in litigation supporting that claim.
The company points out that the Tesla driver in this 2019 incident settled with the crash victims, acknowledging individual responsibility. Tesla also highlights that Autopilot restricted the vehicle's speed to 45 mph, but the driver manually maintained a higher speed, which requires pressing the accelerator pedal. This was a critical factor in the crash.
Refuting Misleading Allegations
Tesla refutes several allegations in the Washington Post article, clarifying that the lawsuit regarding the Key Largo crash does not mention driver complacency or the so-called "Operational Design Domain." The company also notes that the driver involved in the collision admitted to his responsibility, countering claims of over-reliance on the Autopilot system.
The company emphasizes the role of driver responsibility, even when Autopilot is active. The company states that while Autopilot is a Level 2 driver-assist system, it requires the driver to always be in control and attentive. Tesla also mentions advanced safety measures like torque-based (the nag) and camera-based monitoring systems to ensure driver engagement.
Challenging Media Bias
Tesla's statement challenges what it perceives as biased and incompetent media reporting. The company argues for the necessity of balanced reporting that acknowledges both the potential and limitations of advanced driver-assistance systems.
Addressing the safety concerns, Tesla provides compelling statistics: In the 4th quarter of 2022, there was one crash for every 4.85 million miles driven with Autopilot engaged, compared to one crash every 1.40 million miles without Autopilot. This data, Tesla argues, demonstrates that Autopilot significantly enhances safety, contradicting the narrative presented in the Washington Post article.
Concluding its response, Tesla reaffirms its commitment to road safety and technological innovation. The company expresses its willingness to collaborate with global regulators to enhance safety on the road further.
This detailed response from Tesla underscores the importance of comprehensive and balanced media coverage, especially when discussing advanced technologies like Autopilot. However, does Tesla have the time, patience, or resources to combat all the adverse, biased reporting against it? It may have no choice but to correct misconceptions and highlight its dedication to improving automotive safety.
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Tesla signaled its intention to launch its first Robotaxi network in Austin, Texas, with company-owned and operated vehicles, back in January. This network will be Tesla’s first foray into truly autonomous vehicles - ones that aren’t being directly supervised by a driver. Later in February, Tesla’s executive team confirmed that the plans were on track for the launch of the Austin network both on X and during several interviews that they participated in.
At the end of February, we also found out that Tesla has applied for a Supervised Robotaxi license in California, where the network will also launch, but with safety drivers in place.
This is an ambitious plan, but FSD has really come a long way in the past year. FSD V12 was a massive step forward from V11, and V13 has made the experience smoother and safer than ever before. FSD V14 is expected to be another big step up with auto-regressive transformers and audio input.
Still on Track
Now, Elon has tripled down on the fact that Tesla will be launching their first autonomous robotaxi network in Austin - just two months away at this point. It seems that Tesla is fully set to launch their first fully unsupervised self-driving vehicles that will carry paying passengers in June.
Additional Cities
The best part is that Elon also confirmed that they’re targeting robotaxi networks launching in many cities within the United States by the end of this year. However, remember that this will be a Tesla-run network at first - Tesla owners won’t be able to add their vehicles to the Robotaxi fleet right away.
Adding Customer Vehicles
It will take some time before Tesla meets their strict internal safety requirements before it lets customers add their own vehicles to the network. Tesla’s executive team mentioned that they intend to let owners add their own vehicles to the fleet sometime in 2026. This happens to be the same time frame that Tesla plans to launch the Robotaxi across the United States, Mexico, and Canada — something that could only be done with customer-owned cars.
That final step will be bold—and it may come with complications, especially given that autonomous vehicle approval spans municipal, state or provincial, and even federal levels. There are plenty of regulatory hurdles ahead, but this is undoubtedly shaping up to be one of the most exciting times for Tesla.
Launch Event
With the Robotaxi network launching and Unsupervised FSD just around the corner, there’s a lot to get excited about. Tesla is expected to host a launch event at Gigafactory Texas in Austin to mark the debut of its first Robotaxi network. The company previously hinted that referral code users could receive invites—offering a rare chance to score an early ride in a Robotaxi outside the Hollywood studio lot.
Tesla’s engineering mule vehicles—used to test autonomy for future platforms—have resurfaced after an extended absence. The last time we saw them was back in July, when Tesla was gearing up for its initial We, Robot event. Since then, sightings have been scarce.
These vehicles typically signal that Tesla is testing new camera placements or validating FSD ground-truth data. This time, however, they appear to be outfitted exclusively with the updated camera hardware seen on the Cybercab.
New Sightings
The mules have now been spotted in Boston, Massachusetts, and Concord, New Hampshire—their first known appearances this far east. This suggests Tesla is actively collecting data to evaluate and optimize FSD performance in new regions. Thanks to Reddit user Ready_Medium_6693 for catching the one in Concord.
Elon Musk recently mentioned that Tesla plans to expand Robotaxi networks beyond the initial Texas and California launches. So while these sightings aren’t entirely unexpected, the speed of their arrival is. It suggests Tesla is confident in its ability to train FSD for local traffic rules and driving behaviors to the point it no longer needs a driver.
Bumper Cameras
The vehicle that’s been spotted in Boston is the usual Tesla engineering Model 3… except with one unique twist. It includes a front bumper camera. Shout out to @Dylan02939106 for catching the bumper camera in these photos.
The Refreshed Model 3 Mule with a Bumper Camera!
@Dylan02939106 on X
We previously released an opinion piece regarding whether the front bumper camera would be required for Unsupervised FSD. In our eyes, Tesla will require a bumper camera for Unsupervised FSD - if only to improve direct visibility in the bumper area of the vehicle. This is key for low-speed maneuvering in crowded areas like parking lots and garages, as well as for key features like Actually Smart Summon.
It isn’t surprising that Tesla is continuing to evaluate vehicles with a bumper camera - the Cybertruck, Cybercab, and Refreshed Model Y all have them now - and the rest of the lineup, including the flagship Model S and X, as well as the refreshed Model 3 - were supposed to eventually receive them as well.
With the Model S and Model X set for refreshes this year—and the front bumper camera on this Model 3 looking well-integrated rather than a temporary setup—it seems likely that front bumper cameras will soon become standard across Tesla’s entire lineup.
The Robotaxi Mule in Boston
@Dylan02939106 on X
In fact, Tesla’s newest iteration of the FSD computer has a slot for the Bumper Camera on all AI4/HW4 vehicles, so a future retrofit could even be possible.
These are some pretty exciting times - we may see Robotaxi networks actually deploy in time for Tesla’s lofty goal of “sometime in 2026” for cities throughout North America. Once many American cities begin to accept their deployment, it will be easier to seek homologation in Mexico and Canada, enabling deployment throughout the continent.
