TSLA Stock Slips After-Hours: Waymo's Massive Robotaxi Lead Casts New Shadow Over Tesla's FSD Push

• Texas regulatory data showed Tesla has 42 authorized driverless vehicles in the state, compared with 577 for Waymo, 317 for Avride and 35 for Zoox.
• Former Tesla data labelers and engineers apparently said that FSD continued to struggle with emergency vehicles, school buses, and pedestrians, among others. 
• The report also questioned Tesla's FSD safety claims and noted ongoing NHTSA investigations into Autopilot and FSD-related incidents.

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) slipped 1% in overnight trading ahead of Friday, after fresh regulatory data showed that Waymo's robotaxi fleet is over 13x larger than Tesla's, while a separate report detailed concerns from former employees about the performance and safety of Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) tech.

TSLA stock climbed 0.4% on Thursday to end at $442.1, with shares poised to record a second weekly gain and their best month since September. 

Waymo Outpaces Tesla In Texas

New registration data filed under Texas' autonomous vehicle rules showed that Tesla has 42 authorized driverless vehicles in the state, compared with 577 for Alphabet-owned Waymo. Tesla also trails Avride, which has 317 automated vehicles, while Amazon-backed Zoox has 35.

The fleet figures emerged under new Texas rules that require autonomous vehicle operators to disclose fleet sizes and certify that their vehicles meet Level 4 self-driving standards.

The figures provide the clearest look yet at Tesla's robotaxi operation nearly a year after its Austin launch. Tesla has since expanded the service to Dallas and Houston, but the fleet remains far smaller than Waymo's presence across Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.

Inside Tesla's FSD Challenges

The fleet data emerged alongside a Reuters investigation into Tesla's Full Self-Driving technology, robotaxi operations and safety claims. The report cited former Tesla “data labelers,” who reviewed vehicle footage to help train FSD, and engineers who said the software continued to struggle with emergency vehicles, school buses, pedestrians, construction zones and motorcyclists. 

Former employees also said they saw near-misses involving pedestrians and children, speeding incidents, and cases where drivers had to intervene at the last second. One former labeler said they would not trust FSD because "we have all seen it fail," while another said they would not ride in a Tesla robotaxi "if you [expletive] paid me." 

The report also said Tesla's Austin robotaxi fleet was involved in 17 known incidents between July 2025 and April 2026, including two that resulted in minor injuries and one that required hospitalization. 

Meanwhile, Musk highlighted Tesla's autonomous driving progress by sharing a video on X showing a Cybercab autonomously exiting Giga Texas and navigating the factory grounds, past parked vehicles and stop signs, without a visible driver. 

The Cybercab, unveiled in 2024, is Tesla's purpose-built robotaxi that lacks a steering wheel, pedals, or other manual driving controls and is expected to play a central role in the company's planned autonomous ride-hailing network. Tesla's AI lead, Ashok Elluswamy, said on X that the vehicles would soon be "driving themselves straight into Austin" to begin robotaxi service.

Tesla’s FSD Safety Claims Face Scrutiny

The report also examined Tesla's claims that FSD is significantly safer than human drivers. Traffic-safety researchers questioned aspects of the company's methodology, saying that some comparisons may overstate the tech's safety performance.

Among the critics was Carnegie Mellon University autonomous-vehicle expert Phil Koopman, who challenged Tesla's comparison of newer vehicles with the broader U.S. vehicle fleet, saying: "Any new car is dramatically safer than a 12-year-old car. It's like saying: 'My jet airplane is faster than your World War II bomber.'"

Tesla's autonomous driving systems also remain under scrutiny by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which has active investigations into Autopilot- and FSD-related incidents, including collisions with emergency vehicles, failures to stop at traffic controls, and crashes in reduced-visibility conditions.

How Do Retail Traders Feel About TSLA?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for TSLA has slipped to ‘bearish’ from ‘neutral’ levels a week ago amid a 32% decline in chatter over the same period. 

One user said Tesla’s robotaxi was “failing miserably.”

Another user said, “Done touching this, missed out on so much money having a position in this. It’s a loser stock, it never never never NEVER goes up.” 

So far this year, TSLA stock has lagged its “Magnificent Seven” peers, making it the group’s third-worst performer, down 2%.    

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