Tesla Robotaxis Accused of Speeding in School Zones As US Weighs New Safety Probe Tesla Robotaxis Accused of Speeding in School Zones As US Weighs New Safety Probe Daragh Thomas Mon, October 12, 2026 at 9:31 AM EDT 2 min read TSLA -0.80% Trade Tesla on Coinbase Trading disclosure Trading disclosure The above button links to Coinbase. Yahoo Finance is not a broker-dealer or investment adviser and does not offer securities or cryptocurrencies for sale or facilitate trading. Coinbase pays us for certain activity generated through this link. Prices displayed are informational.
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U.S. regulators are weighing a new investigation into allegations that Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) robotaxis exceeded speed limits in active school zones. The review became public Monday, two days after the company touted an eightfold expansion of its Austin Cybercab fleet.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received the petition on Sept. 23 and opened an evaluation Oct. 9, according to documents released Monday.
The petitioner provided three links to video footage as evidence of alleged speeding by 2026 Model Y and Cybercab vehicles. NHTSA estimates the review covers 1,000 vehicles.
Agency records list four incidents, including three social media reports, but no crashes, injuries or fatalities. Regulators have not decided whether to launch a formal investigation, Bloomberg reported.
Tesla separately faces an NHTSA investigation into how it certified its steering-wheel-free Cybercab under federal vehicle safety standards.
Tesla said Saturday it had more than 300 Cybercabs serving Austin.
A Reuters reporter observed a Tesla robotaxi traveling 40 to 45 mph in a 35 mph zone beside the Texas School for the Deaf during the company's June 2025 launch.
Signs warned motorists about deaf pedestrians, although Reuters did not establish whether an active school-zone speed restriction applied.
NHTSA also contacted Tesla following videos showing apparent traffic violations during the launch.
Speed limits have attracted scrutiny in Europe, too. A Belgian study found Tesla's supervised Full Self-Driving software exceeded legal limits on 55% of tested Brussels road segments, while Tesla pressed European regulators to accelerate approval.
The European system requires driver supervision. Tesla's US robotaxi service still uses human safety monitors in some operations.
CEO Elon Musk warned about regulatory intervention during Tesla's July 22, 2026, earnings call.
"If we injure even one person, it will be worldwide headline news," he said. "And regulators will immediately clamp down on our activities."
Prediction markets point to an uneven rollout for Tesla's robotaxis this year.
Kalshi puts the probability of Tesla launching qualifying robotaxi service in Nevada by year-end at 65%, compared with 51% for Arizona and 24% for Georgia.
On Polymarket, traders give Tesla just a 13% chance of launching robotaxis in California by December 31, and a 19% chance of selling a Cybercab for $30,000 or less this year.
The latter contract requires an actual retail sale, rather than simply adding Cybercabs to Tesla's robotaxi fleet.
Tesla shares were little changed in early Monday premarket trading.
Kalshi and Benzinga have an existing data collaboration agreement.
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This article Tesla Robotaxis Accused of Speeding in School Zones As US Weighs New Safety Probe originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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