{"schema_version":"0.10.0","id":"LR-2026-0688","record_version":1,"title":"Tesla Robotaxi drives through Austin bollards and traffic barriers","verification":{"human_verified":false,"method":"automated_gate","auto_verified":true,"score":60.7,"score_breakdown":{"source_authority":12.1,"independent_corroboration":20.0,"implicated_party_confirmed":0.0,"citation_integrity":14.0,"specificity":3.0,"completeness":3.52,"unhedged_language":5.0},"checks":{"schema_valid":true,"every_field_cited":true,"quotes_verbatim":true,"source_fetched":true,"distinct_incident":true,"dates_plausible":true,"sources_agree":true,"source_describes_incident":true,"severe_backed_by_source":true,"record_integrity":true,"eligible":true,"about_this_case":true},"gate_version":"gate-2026-10-18.7","cross_check_model":null,"cross_check_agreement":null,"duplicate_of":null,"verified_by":null,"verified_at":"2026-11-01","extraction_run_id":null,"evidence_level":{"level":"preliminary","reason":"1 report: Futurism · subject to change","original_document":null,"reports_total":3,"reports_independent":1,"reports_derivative":0,"developing":false,"disputed":false,"rules_version":"evidence-2026-10-29.1","computed_at":"2026-11-01","history":[{"date":"2026-11-01","from_level":null,"to_level":"preliminary","reason":"1 report: Futurism · subject to change"}]},"sources_hash":"adec5938a2c4c678018147110cb0574f147a221001c4ce658d4026266bb22d24"},"system":{"model_name":null,"model_version":null,"developer":"Tesla","harness":null,"tools_granted":[],"permissions_scope":null,"autonomy_level":"full-auto","guardrails_present":[],"deployment_context":"production","tier":null,"lifecycle_stage":null,"integration_type":null,"intended_use":"driverless passenger ride service","safeguard_state":null,"production_intended":null},"event":{"date_occurred":null,"date_disclosed":"2026-08-18","incident_class":"operational_error","failure_class":null,"agent_involved":null,"secondary_failure_classes":[],"trigger":"unknown","duration":null,"detection_method":"unknown","summary":"A Tesla Robotaxi running in Austin with no safety monitor onboard entered a curb extension closed to traffic and marked off by flexible plastic bollards. Passenger video shows the vehicle stopping at the posts, creeping forward and backing up, then pushing through the bollards and continuing down the street. Electrek reports it is fairly clear that the car detected the bollards and stopped for them several times. No one was hurt, and the barriers are designed to flex. The footage was posted to Reddit and reported by Electrek, Motor1 and Futurism. The sources state that it cannot be told from the video whether a remote operator was involved, and they do not state a confirmed cause.","tags":[],"date_detected":null,"near_miss":null,"root_cause":null,"root_cause_detail":null,"failure_class_detail":null,"responsible_party":null,"adversarial_actor":null,"input_provenance":null,"time_to_contain":null,"operations_paused":null,"remediation":null,"precursor_events":null},"impact":{"direct_loss_usd":null,"remediation_hours":null,"records_exposed":null,"third_parties_affected_count":null,"severity":"minor","severity_because":"Test applied: minor (contained, no third party touched, routine cleanup). Fact: no one was hurt and damage was likely scuffed plastic.","harm_class":["none_materialised"],"affected_description":null,"protected_class_involved":null,"data_categories_exposed":[],"loss_range_usd":null,"reversibility":null,"downstream_exposure_count":null},"evidence":{"sources":[{"url":"https://electrek.co/2026/08/18/tesla-robotaxi-rams-through-bollards-austin/","publisher":"Electrek","date":"2026-08-18","type":"press","title":"Tesla ‘Robotaxi’ rams through bollards weeks after ‘impeccable’ claim - Electrek","archived_url":null,"attachment":"first_report"},{"url":"https://www.motor1.com/news/805430/tesla-robotaxi-bollard-crash-austin/","publisher":"Motor1.com","date":"2026-08-19","type":"press","title":"Watch: Tesla Robotaxi Pushes Through Austin Bollards - Motor1.com","archived_url":null},{"url":"https://futurism.com/advanced-transport/tesla-robotaxi-no-driver-bollards","publisher":"Futurism","date":"2026-08-19","type":"press","title":"Tesla Robotaxi With No Driver Spotted Smashing Through Traffic Barriers - Futurism","archived_url":null,"independence":"independent"}],"per_field_confidence":{"system.developer":"C","system.autonomy_level":"C","system.deployment_context":"C","system.intended_use":"C","impact.harm_class":"C","impact.severity":"C","event.incident_class":"D","impact.severity_because":"D","event.summary":"C","event.trigger":"D","event.detection_method":"D","context.country":"D","event.date_disclosed":"D","context.denominator_available":"D"},"field_citations":{"system.developer":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"A Tesla “Robotaxi” running with no safety monitor onboard drove straight through a row of bollards protecting a closed-off lane in Austin, then kept driving."}],"system.autonomy_level":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Nobody was in the driver’s seat."}],"system.deployment_context":[{"source_index":1,"quote":"The Austin car was already running driverless service with passengers onboard and an empty front seat."}],"system.intended_use":[{"source_index":1,"quote":"The Austin car was already running driverless service with passengers onboard and an empty front seat."}],"impact.harm_class":[{"source_index":1,"quote":"No one was hurt, and the barriers are meant to flex on impact, which likely kept damage to scuffed plastic."}],"impact.severity":[{"source_index":1,"quote":"No one was hurt, and the barriers are meant to flex on impact, which likely kept damage to scuffed plastic."}],"event.incident_class":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"A Tesla “Robotaxi” running with no safety monitor onboard drove straight through a row of bollards protecting a closed-off lane in Austin, then kept driving."}],"impact.severity_because":[{"source_index":1,"quote":"No one was hurt, and the barriers are meant to flex on impact, which likely kept damage to scuffed plastic."}],"event.summary":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"A Tesla “Robotaxi” running with no safety monitor onboard drove straight through a row of bollards protecting a closed-off lane in Austin, then kept driving."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"The car stops. It creeps forward, backs up, creeps forward again, sits there for a while, and then simply pushes through the posts with an audible thunk."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"It is fairly clear that the car detected the bollards."},{"source_index":1,"quote":"No one was hurt, and the barriers are meant to flex on impact, which likely kept damage to scuffed plastic."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"Tesla also runs remote assistance for exactly this kind of situation, and there’s no way to tell from the video whether an operator was involved."}]},"notes_on_gaps":"No incident date or confirmed occurrence date is stated; the video is described only as surfacing on a Monday, and the press pieces are dated 2026-08-18 and 2026-08-19, which I did not treat as the incident date. Model version, harness, permissions, tools, guardrails, and the developer's own statement are not given. Whether a remote operator was involved is unknown. Detection method and responsible party are not stated. Root cause is not confirmed: Electrek's account of a perception-versus-decision failure is commentary, so root_cause is left unset and the detail quotes are marked as the reporter's reading. failure_class is left out because the sources do not establish a classified autonomous-agent failure. The autonomy_level 'full-auto' is my judgement from 'Nobody was in the driver's seat' and 'no safety monitor'. Country US is my inference from Texas and Austin, not stated as such. Severity 'minor' is my judgement from no injuries and scuffed plastic; no third-party data or systems were stated as touched. The B1 'missing' link is my judgement that the absence of a safety monitor reflects missing human oversight. No remediation was reported. The Electrek solar and EnergySage advertising, the Cybercab plans and the Tesla whistleblower link were not used as incident facts. [case created by the backfill: read by claude-haiku-5-5, backfill-2026-11-01.2, 2026-11-01; not yet reviewed] [2026-11-01: evidence level set: Preliminary (1 report: Futurism · subject to change)]"},"context":{"industry":null,"org_size_band":null,"country":"unknown","denominator_available":false,"denominator":null,"related_incident_ids":[],"systemic_exposure":null,"shared_model_id":null,"upstream_incident_id":null,"incident_evidence":null,"regulatory":null,"coverage":null},"narrative":{"steps":[{"step":"doing","text":"The Robotaxi was already running driverless service with passengers aboard and an empty front seat.","quote":"The Austin car was already running driverless service with passengers onboard and an empty front seat.","source_index":1,"grade":"C"},{"step":"reached","text":"The car stopped, crept forward and back, then pushed through the plastic posts.","quote":"The car stops. It creeps forward, backs up, creeps forward again, sits there for a while, and then simply pushes through the posts with an audible thunk.","source_index":0,"grade":"C"},{"step":"caught","text":"A rider filmed the incident, and the video was uploaded to Reddit and first spotted by Electrek.","quote":"The incident was captured in a video uploaded Monday to the r/SelfDrivingCars subreddit and first spotted by Electrek.","source_index":2,"grade":"C"}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"backfill-2026-11-01.2","extracted_at":"2026-11-01","source_urls":["https://electrek.co/2026/08/18/tesla-robotaxi-rams-through-bollards-austin/","https://www.motor1.com/news/805430/tesla-robotaxi-bollard-crash-austin/","https://futurism.com/advanced-transport/tesla-robotaxi-no-driver-bollards"]},"analysis":{"sections":{"timeline":[{"text":"The Robotaxi stopped at the bollards, moved back and forth, then pushed through them.","quote":"The car stops. It creeps forward, backs up, creeps forward again, sits there for a while, and then simply pushes through the posts with an audible thunk.","source_index":0,"when":null}]},"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"backfill-2026-11-01.2","extracted_at":"2026-11-01","source_urls":["https://electrek.co/2026/08/18/tesla-robotaxi-rams-through-bollards-austin/","https://www.motor1.com/news/805430/tesla-robotaxi-bollard-crash-austin/","https://futurism.com/advanced-transport/tesla-robotaxi-no-driver-bollards"]}}