First Safety-Critical Tesla Robotaxi Intervention Captured on Video – Safety Monitor (Tesla Employee in the Passenger Seat) Quickly Applies the Brakes via the Touch Screen to Prevent a Crash with a UPS Truck

Three days after Tesla launched its Robotaxi service, the first safety-critical intervention involving a Robotaxi has occurred, and the incident was recorded on video.

The near miss occurred while long-time Tesla investor and YouTuber Dave Lee was taking a Robotaxi ride in Austin, Texas.

Dave nearly finished his ride without issues. However, a problem arose when the Robotaxi reached its final destination and attempted to find a parking spot to drop Dave off.

Just as the Robotaxi was about to pull into the parking spot, a UPS driver was already aligning his van to parallel park into the same spot.

The Robotaxi did not recognize that the UPS truck was reversing and continued driving forward into the parking spot.

At this point, both the UPS driver and the Robotaxi appeared to be on a collision course, each refusing to give up the parking spot to the other.

Thankfully, the Tesla safety observer in the passenger seat quickly responded by pressing a button on the center touchscreen, which caused the Model Y to stop instantly and avoid a collision with the UPS truck.

The video, showing the first safety-critical incident, has been widely circulated online.

Dave posted the footage on YouTube and X. The close call appears in a 39-minute video that compares rides between a Tesla Robotaxi, a Waymo, and an Uber driven by a human driver.

The near miss occurs at the 29-minute mark on the YouTube video.

As you can see, the Robotaxi and the UPS truck come very close to colliding.

Even more concerning, the Robotaxi was halfway into the parking spot when the safety monitor stopped the ride. However, instead of backing out, the Robotaxi remained stationary while the UPS driver continued reversing.

Many observers noted that if a human driver had been controlling the vehicle, they would have backed out and yielded the parking spot to the UPS driver, rather than remaining stationary and risking a potential accident.

Another interesting point is that the Tesla employee used the center touchscreen to stop the vehicle, rather than the “special button/kill switch” that all safety monitors keep their fingers hovering over during each Robotaxi drive.

Because safety monitors keep their fingers near a particular button throughout a Robotaxi, it was assumed Tesla repurposed the Model Y's electronic door open button as an emergency brake.

The topic of the ‘special button’ has garnered so much attention that even Elon Musk has addressed the controversy surrounding it.

Going back to the incident with the UPS driver, most Tesla enthusiasts, according to comments, ultimately blamed the UPS driver for the close call.

Tesla fan Rani G stated that not only was the Robotaxi justified in trying to pull into the parking spot, but the UPS driver is at fault and should be fired if the interaction had resulted in a collision.

Rani G writes…

“If I were Tesla, I would report this UPS driver to UPS. Once the UPS driver saw the Tesla, he should have stopped and looked for a new spot or looped around the block.

Driving in reverse is dangerous, and anyone going in reverse who sees someone in the path MUST abort the maneuver.

If there had been an accident, the UPS driver would have been at fault. Also, if the UPS driver did not see the Tesla, he should definitely be fired.”

Other Tesla fans also supported the sentiment that the UPS driver was at fault.

A fellow Tesla fan, CJ, says…

“That's not even a real intervention. Just a Human delivery driver playing their usual "My vehicle doesn't belong to me anyway, and I don't care" game of chicken.”

A third Tesla fan says…

“Weird situation. Robotaxi clearly had a blinker on, not sure which way. Can't tell if UPS had a blinker on or not.

I think the Robotaxi would have stopped on its own, but it’s very possible it could have made contact if not for the intervention.

I don't think this was Robotaxi's fault, but it could have handled the situation better.”

Most Tesla fans agree that it’s not the Robotaxi’s fault; however, some argue that if the UPS driver had turned on his reverse light and blinkers, clearly signaling his intention to back into the parking spot, then the Robotaxi shouldn’t have attempted to park there.

However, please let me know what you think in the comments. Share your ideas by clicking the RED “Add new comment” button below. Also, be sure to visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.

Image: Screenshot from Dave Lee’s YouTube video

For more information, check out: Several Tesla Cybertruck Owners Share That Their Truck Goes Into Full-On Regenerative Braking Every Time They Engage FSD at Highway Speed – Add “I’m Brake Checking People Every Time”

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and the evolution of the EV space daily for several years. He covers everything about Tesla, from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.