A viral video has surfaced showing a man jumping into the street to make a Tesla Cybercab slam on its brakes, which raises concerns about the potential risks posed by pranksters to these new autonomous vehicles.
The video has gained over 1.3 million views on X, depicting an unnamed, somewhat heavyset man leaping into the path of an approaching Cybercab and then quickly retreating to the sidewalk.
The self-driving taxi repeatedly stops abruptly before eventually coming to a halt in the road, its hazard lights blinking while another conventional vehicle maneuvers around it.
This incident represents one of the initial complications following the introduction of gold-colored Cybercabs on the streets of Austin, Texas, just last week. These autonomous vehicles lack steering wheels, brake pedals, and a straightforward mechanism for human drivers to take control in emergencies.
Jesse Cohen, a senior financial analyst at Investing.com, reshared the video and cautioned that such behavior could be a significant issue for Tesla’s robotaxis in the future.
He noted, “Any attention-seeking lunatic can continue to do this with zero accountability and delay peoples’ rides and cause accidents,” in a post on X.
Other users on social media expressed concerns that a wave of disruptive antics aimed at Teslas might lead to more traffic incidents.
One commenter remarked, “The types of people who do this are very dumb. Sadly, posting a video will likely give more dumb people ‘an idea.’”
Another individual suggested that “there should be a reasonable penalty for this.”
Some even urged the Austin Police Department to intervene.
Since the launch, Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s company has been trialing robotaxis in various markets, though earlier models had traditional driving controls and a human driver. The Austin deployment marks the first full rollout of fully autonomous vehicles.
In the wake of this introduction, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began an audit to verify whether Tesla’s new Cybercab complies with federal safety regulations.
The Cybercab has been highlighted as a crucial component of Tesla’s strategy for growth, particularly as it faces declining sales in electric vehicles.
Musk has indicated that the company will shift its focus towards becoming a broader technology firm, emphasizing artificial intelligence and humanoid robots.
