by What is known about the incident
Tesla’s autonomous driving technology has long attracted a lot of attention, so the new Cybercab is also in the spotlight. However, some people seem to be going too far in this regard.
In the video published on social media, a man can be seen standing behind a pole and then suddenly jumping out onto the roadway in front of the Cybercab. He seems to want to hide from the vehicle and test whether the system can detect him and stop at the last moment.
How the man behaved after the Cybercab stopped
The Cybercab did stop, but the experiment itself was very reckless and dangerous. Despite this, the man ran next to the car and then returned to the road again. Two more similar attempts can be seen in the frame, although during the last one he no longer stepped onto the roadway.
The most important thing is that it all happened on a regular public street where other vehicles were moving. Closer to the middle of the video, the situation even forced the driver of a blue Jeep to change lanes.
The footage shows the SUV behind the Cybercab for some time. The driver quickly changes lanes and drives around the robotaxi. But had he not been watching the road, such a stunt could easily have led to an accident.
Tesla robotaxis are definitely facing a huge problem when people deliberately stop the car. This man is playing with the new Cybercab, but the inability to avoid someone who tries to harm the vehicle or, especially, passengers is likely a design flaw.
Of course, you should not put yourself and others in danger just to test a self-driving car. If you want a ride, please get inside. But you should not throw yourself under the wheels or run across in front of the car to check whether it will hit you. Otherwise, you might literally be “competing” for a Darwin Award.
How this is related to the NHTSA investigation
This month, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation after Tesla began using a small number of Cybercabs commercially in Austin, Texas.
Tesla confirmed that the cars comply with current federal motor vehicle safety standards, although the Cybercab has no brake pedal, accelerator pedal, steering wheel, or mirrors. The investigation should determine how justified Tesla’s decision was to consider part of these standards inapplicable to robotaxis.
There have already been incidents where a Cybercab found itself in unusual situations: for example, a robotaxi was blocked by bollards and it simply broke through them. The latest video with a man jumping in front of the car raises another important question: is the system ready for deliberate provocations? So far, the Cybercab has stopped every time, but such “tests” show that the real environment can be far more unpredictable than any test track. The human factor remains one of the most difficult obstacles for autonomous transport, and this incident clearly demonstrates it.
