Texas man shares moment Tesla's Robotaxi gets caught in an infinite loop in a parking lot

A Texas man has gone viral after capturing the moment a Tesla Robotaxi got stuck in an infinite loop while trying to escape a busy parking lot.

The footage, taken from inside the vehicle, shows the autonomous Model Y driving in circles for nearly six minutes, completely unable to find its way out.

Despite having a human ‘safety monitor’ seated in the front passenger seat, no one intervened as the car aimlessly looped again and again.

The video raised new questions about the readiness of the car’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, and how the company handles real-world failures.

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The Tesla Robotaxi got itself stuck due to traffic cones

The video was uploaded by Dan Burkland, a self-described EV enthusiast.

INTERVENTION: Tesla Robotaxi Stuck In A Loop

In my 16th Robotaxi ride, I threw a curveball at Robotaxi by having it pick me up in a busy parking lot near an event center. The usual parking lot exit was coned off by parking lot attendants which resulted in some difficulties for… pic.twitter.com/sPHkGHYFXK

— Dan Burkland (@DBurkland) July 25, 2025

According to Burkland, he tried to test the Tesla Robotaxi’s capabilities, by intentionally having it pick him up in a busy parking lot, where the normal exit had been blocked by traffic cones.

The good news is, the Model Y recognized that the exit had been coned off, and didn’t try to ram its way through.

However, the bad news is that the cones seem to have thrown the robotaxi into a loop.

You see, due to the traffic cone situation, the temporary exit is where the parking lot entrance is.

However, because the entrance has pavement markings that show it’s one direction only, the Tesla refuses to go out that way.

Instead, it kept driving in a circle, trying to search for another way out, when it doesn’t exist.

Tesla’s FSD needs to level up

After its sixth lap, Burkland thought enough was enough, so he decided to call Tesla support.

The first agent hopped onto the call, and noted that the vehicle ‘seems to be failing to make progress’.

A second agent was later looped in, and the car quickly stopped.

After a brief wait, the car starts moving.

While the interface indicates that FSD was engaged, Burkland had a nagging suspicion that someone is remotely operating the vehicle, given its slow and sluggish movements.

The Robotaxi eventually made its way out of the carpark, and things were smooth sailing from there.

The whole ordeal took around six minutes, which wasn’t too bad.

Burkland himself said that it was lucky that Tesla support has a process for this, saving him from the infinite loop in the parking lot.

However, the incident does show that Tesla still has room for improvement.

Even though Tesla’s FSD recently took on China toughest test and smashed all its rivals there, the company’s real opponent might be in the US.

Waymo, which is already aiming to launch its autonomous robotaxis in several US cities, recently announced a massive increase in its Austin service area, directly challenging Tesla.

If the manufacturer wants to be the main player in the new robotaxi industry, its autonomous cars are going to need to level up.

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