All dockets / Investigations / RD-2026-027
NHTSA Investigating Tesla Robotaxis Speeding In School Zones
- Docket No.
RD-2026-027- Filed
- 2026-10-14
- Manufacturer
- Tesla
- Hazard class
- Investigations
- Units cited
- 1,000
- Reported by
- Marcus Lewinsky
Summary
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation has opened a file on allegations that Tesla's Robotaxis speed through active school zones, and the agency now has until roughly January 21, 2027 to decide whether a formal investigation is warranted.
The office opened the file, DP26010, on Friday, October 9, according to the agency's documents. The underlying defect petition reached NHTSA on September 23 and targets model year 2026 Robotaxis running with Tesla's Automated Driving System engaged, covering both Model Y and Cybercab. Federal rules under 49 CFR Part 552 give the agency 120 days from receipt to grant or deny the petition. A grant means a formal defect investigation, and those can end in a recall.
The evidence file is small. The petition cites three social media videos, and NHTSA's own tally logs four incidents. No crashes, injuries, or deaths have been recorded. Tesla currently runs autonomous rideshare service in Austin, Dallas, and Houston, in Tampa, Orlando, and Miami, and in limited form in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Documents filed with NHTSA estimate that a potential investigation would cover about 1,000 vehicles, and the agency labels the figure an estimate. Tesla does not disclose how many Robotaxis it operates. The estimate may reflect vehicles Tesla is officially adding to the fleet through Texas DMV certification rather than cars actively in service. The Cybercab began commercial service in Austin on September 3.
It is the third federal action aimed at Tesla's driverless fleet in roughly five weeks, following an audit query and a Special Order over how the Cybercab was certified. In that certification fight, NHTSA ordered Tesla to prove under oath that a vehicle with no pedals or steering wheel meets federal safety standards, with answers due September 30. The agency has not made Tesla's responses public.
Speed has surfaced before. Videos from the Austin Robotaxi launch in June 2025 showed cars exceeding limits, and in October 2025 NHTSA opened a separate investigation into Full Self-Driving over traffic-law violations. The distinction here is responsibility: with FSD (Supervised), the owner selects a profile and is responsible for the car. A Robotaxi has no owner behind the wheel.