First Tesla Robotaxi intervention by safety monitor caught on camera, nearly 60 hours into launch
Published on Jun 26, 2025 at 4:30 AM (UTC+4)
by Daisy Edwards
Last updated on Jun 25, 2025 at 3:32 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
Nearly 60 hours into the launch of Tesla’s Robotaxi launch, we got the chance to see the first Tesla Robotaxi intervention by a safety monitor sitting in the front passenger seat.
In the early stages of the launch, while Tesla Robotaxis are still getting their bearings, it seems that there are safety monitors in the cars with the passengers – people who sit in the passenger seat and monitor the taxis.
A recent video by a Tesla investor and fan, revealed that the safety monitor had to intervene with the automated driving when a UPS van suddenly tried to parallel park in front of it.
Had the safety monitor not intervened, the UPS van may have reversed into the robotaxi, causing the first crash, just 60 hours after launch.
EXPLORE SBX CARS – Supercar auctions starting soon powered by Supercar Blondie
60 hours into launch, a Tesla Robotaxi required a human touch
With every new release, there’s always a small chance of dealing with some growing pains. And the launch of Tesla’s new driverless robotaxi service has been no different.
In order to iron out some early problems, Tesla employs people as ‘safety monitors’, who sit in the front passenger seat and intervene in the case of danger or emergency.
We’ve previously covered an incident where a robotaxi swerved across multiple lanes, which, while dangerous, did not actually require physical intervention by a safety monitor.
However, in a 30-minute-long video by an investor and fan of Tesla, we see the reality of driving in a busy city.
Sharing his experience of a ride in a Robotaxi, the man accidentally showed footage of the safety monitor performing a Robotaxi intervention.
Day 3. Finished 5 Tesla Robotaxi rides, 4 Waymo rides, and 1 Uber ride. (See 39-minute edited video below.)
— Dave Lee (@heydave7) June 24, 2025
Uber is in a tough situation. Classic innovators dilemma. Autonomous ride-hailing clearly is the future, but if Uber invites Waymo then that's working against their… pic.twitter.com/F5C3wFpSyj
UPS? More like Oops!
While the passenger had a relatively mundane journey with no problems at all, right at the end, the safety monitor had to get involved.
The robotaxi was thrown off by a UPS van that was parallel parking in front of it. And the safety monitor had to press the ‘Stop in Lane’ button on the touchscreen.
We don’t know how long the safety monitors will be there for. But for incidents like this, we bet the passenger was grateful to have a person there.
Driverless taxis can have some issues when the FSD doesn’t anticipate human error.
But hopefully, all these small incidents can help Tesla‘s machine learning pick up on these problems. Fingers crossed, we won’t see any further Robotaxi interventions.
DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
Daisy Edwards is a Content Writer at supercarblondie.com. Daisy has more than five years’ experience as a qualified journalist, having graduated with a History and Journalism degree from Goldsmiths, University of London and a dissertation in vintage electric vehicles. Daisy specializes in writing about cars, EVs, tech and luxury lifestyle. When she's not writing, she's at a country music concert or working on one of her many unfinished craft projects.
