NHTSA opens a petition on Tesla Robotaxis
On 9 October 2026 the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened defect petition DP26010, which asks it to investigate Tesla's model-year 2026 Robotaxis (Model Y and Cybercab) with the automated driving system engaged. The petition, received on 23 September, alleges that the vehicles exceed posted speed limits in active school zones. It comes with three links to video; NHTSA lists about 1,000 vehicles and four incidents and opened the petition to evaluate the allegations and decide whether to grant or deny it.
Why it matters
This is the first step of a process, not a finding: opening a defect petition does not open an investigation or a recall, and the resume records no crash, injury or fatality. It puts a specific behaviour, speed near schools, before the agency that is already auditing the Cybercab's certification (the record of 3 September), and it names the Robotaxi and the Cybercab together.
What the document says. The ODI Resume (Office of Defects Investigation) for DP26010, "Prompted By: Defect Petition", "Date Opened: 10/09/2026". Manufacturer Tesla, Inc.; product MY 2026 Tesla Robotaxi (Model Y and Cybercab); population 1,000 (estimated). "The petition alleges that the subject vehicles exceed posted speed limits in active school zones." Failure report summary: 4 incidents in all, one from ODI and three "Other", described as "Social Media Reports Included in the Petition"; none from the manufacturer or from early-warning reports; zero crashes or fires, zero injury incidents, zero fatality incidents. The summary says ODI received the petition on 23 September 2026, requesting an investigation into MY 2026 Tesla Robotaxis with the Automated Driving System engaged, that the petitioner provided 3 links to video footage as supporting evidence, and that "A DP has been opened to evaluate the allegations and determine whether to grant or deny the petition." The petition itself can be read on nhtsa.gov under ODI number 11766676. What the record does not claim. The document does not name the petitioner, does not say what speeds or places the videos show, and gives no deadline for the decision; the petition itself was not read. No Tesla response was read. It is not an investigation, a recall or a finding of defect. "About 1,000" is NHTSA's estimate of the population.