The Cybercab’s first federal report card is in, and it’s clean. NHTSA’s latest automated-driving crash data shows no Cybercab crashes since public rides began in Austin on September 4. The only Cybercab entry in the entire dataset is a 5 mph drive into a water-filled pothole during an August test.
What the data shows
NHTSA updated its Standing General Order crash data for automated driving systems on October 15, covering reports through September 15. That window includes the first 11 days of public Cybercab service. As Drive Tesla Canada and CyberCab.News report:
- Zero Cybercab crashes after public rides opened on September 4.
- The one Cybercab report predates public service. In August, in an Austin parking lot, a Cybercab “proceeding straight… going as fast as 5MPH… drove into a large pothole filled with water,” per Tesla’s narrative. A safety monitor was aboard and there were no passengers.
- That incident involved property damage only: no injuries, no airbag deployment and no tow.
The rest of the Robotaxi fleet
The data also includes nine Tesla Robotaxi incidents from August: five in Dallas, three in Austin and one in Tampa, per Tesla News Wire. All were property damage only, with no injuries. They were the kind of low-speed contacts you’d expect in a busy urban fleet:
- a remotely driven Model Y touched a parked SUV in Dallas at 0.4 mph;
- a remote operator brushed a dumpster in an Austin alley at about 1 mph;
- minor contact with a guardrail, a utility meter and a chain;
- two incidents where other vehicles struck the Robotaxi.
Notably, CyberCab.News points out that the five-day reports covering September crashes list none from Tesla at all, for Cybercab or Model Y. The 12 September crashes in that release came from Waymo (10), Zoox (1) and Motional (1).
Context, fairly stated
Two caveats. First, NHTSA’s raw counts aren’t adjusted for fleet size or miles driven, and Waymo runs a much larger fleet in more cities, so this isn’t a like-for-like comparison. Second, minor September crashes are filed in monthly reports that will appear in a later release, so this is an early read rather than the final word. Even so, a new vehicle type with no steering wheel completing its first public weeks without a single reported crash is a strong start.
Why it matters now
The timing is useful for Tesla. NHTSA is reviewing how Tesla self-certified the pedal-free Cybercab, with answers due October 30, and is weighing a petition about school-zone speeds. Clean early data doesn’t settle those questions, but it gives Tesla real-world evidence to point to. The fleet is also growing quickly, with more than 300 Cybercabs in Austin and Dallas next, so each new data release will carry more weight.
The EVX News take
Robotaxi safety is ultimately judged by the data, and the first Cybercab data looks good: one low-speed pothole during testing and nothing since riders came aboard. The fleet and the miles will grow from here. So far, the only thing a Cybercab has run into is a puddle-filled pothole.
Sources: Drive Tesla Canada, CyberCab.News, Tesla News Wire, NHTSA Standing General Order ADS crash data (updated Oct. 15, 2026). Not a Tesla App did not cover this story.
— The EVX News team
Featured image: Tesla Cybercab at Santana Row, by Dllu, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
