Tesla’s Autopilot safety data shows mixed results in the second quarter of 2025, with crashes occurring every 6.69 million miles compared to 6.88 million miles during the same period last year. This represents a 2.8% decline in safety performance year-over-year.
Non-Autopilot Tesla vehicles experienced even worse results, with crashes happening every 963,000 miles compared to 1.45 million miles in Q2 2024. This decline in safety metrics raises concerns about the overall performance of Tesla’s non-Autopilot systems. Compounding the situation, news broke that tesla’s star engineer departs, further intensifying scrutiny on the company’s future technological advancements. As the market watches closely, the implications of these developments could impact consumer confidence and demand for Tesla’s vehicles.
Despite the regression, Tesla’s Autopilot still performs better than the U.S. fleet average, where crashes occur every 702,000 miles. However, the gap between Tesla’s technology and conventional vehicles is narrowing, raising questions about the company’s progress toward full self-driving capabilities. As the industry evolves, competitors are implementing advanced safety features that challenge Tesla’s dominance in autonomous driving. In particular, the Volkswagen robotaxi strategy analysis reveals ambitious plans that could accelerate the adoption of similar technologies and reshape market dynamics. If Tesla does not address the narrowing gap, it risks losing its edge amid increasing competition and regulatory scrutiny.
Tesla continues to promote its Full Self-Driving system as a major safety advantage. The company argues that unlike human drivers, FSD eliminates risks from fatigue, intoxication, and distractions. Tesla’s system addresses these human mistakes through active steering, sensors, and alerts that monitor driver behavior. Tesla has released 138 software updates in 2025 alone, significantly outpacing the 108 updates released throughout 2024.
Early riders in Austin’s Robotaxi pilot program report the vehicles drive like “confident, cautious drivers,” suggesting improvements in the technology’s real-world application.
Legal challenges persist for the electric vehicle maker. California courts are reviewing truth-in-advertising lawsuits that claim Tesla misrepresented Autopilot and FSD capabilities.
The company’s Robotaxi launch in California faces delays as regulators cite safety concerns and demand additional data before granting approval. In addition to safety concerns, there have been reports of Tesla Robotaxi launch secrecy issues that have raised further questions among regulators. Critics argue that transparency is crucial for public trust, particularly in a technology that could significantly impact urban mobility. As the company works to address these challenges, the timeline for a successful launch remains uncertain.
Tesla’s approach to hardware upgrades has frustrated some customers. The company won’t retrofit older vehicles with HW3/AI3 computers until it achieves unsupervised FSD. This means owners of older Teslas may wait indefinitely for promised features. Many customers are left wondering if their vehicles will ever receive the cutting-edge features that newer models enjoy. As Tesla continues to focus on advancing its Full Self-Driving technology, the debate over hardware upgrades remains a hot topic among enthusiasts and investors alike. With the upcoming tesla ev delivery performance update on the horizon, stakeholders hope it may provide clarity on how the company plans to address these concerns.
Meanwhile, Tesla maintains separate codebases for its Robotaxi program and consumer FSD, though it plans to merge these systems eventually.
The company’s latest software update includes Grok AI integration, aiming to improve user interactions without human oversight.
Tesla prioritizes achieving unsupervised FSD before addressing legacy hardware limitations, potentially excluding older vehicles from advanced features permanently.
As public skepticism grows amid safety regression data, Tesla faces mounting pressure to deliver on its autonomy promises.
The company’s ability to steer through regulatory scrutiny in California could determine its international autonomy roadmap and future market position.