Overview
- Elon Musk said in Davos that a small portion of Tesla’s Austin pilot is now running rides without in‑car safety monitors, with most vehicles still supervised.
- User video and subsequent reporting show the purported driverless rides being followed by separate Tesla “chase” cars carrying safety personnel.
- The Austin fleet is roughly 34–40 vehicles, significantly smaller than Waymo’s presence in the city and far behind Waymo’s more than 2,000 vehicles overall.
- Tesla has reported eight crashes over six months from the Austin pilot to NHTSA, with redacted filings limiting independent analysis of fault and circumstances.
- Recent FSD software (v14.2.2.3) introduced TOI Recovery to let the car attempt self‑recovery instead of immediate handoffs, a change cited as enabling the unsupervised trials as regulators continue to scrutinize Tesla’s marketing and unmet coverage timelines.