Archive · 5 Oct 2026
Tesla Robotaxis Face Nighttime Animal-Detection Hurdle
Tesla wants its robotaxis in Austin to drive later at night.
The service now runs until 11 PM, one hour later than before.
Elon Musk says the cars can have trouble seeing small animals when they are hard to distinguish from the road.
Tesla mainly uses cameras to understand what is around its cars.
Cameras can struggle when it is dark or when an object blends into its background.
Waymo uses cameras as well as lidar and radar.
The two companies have chosen different ways to help their cars detect things.
US safety investigators are also examining crashes involving Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system in poor visibility, but the investigation has not shown that Tesla’s camera strategy caused them.
Tesla extended its Austin Robotaxi service cutoff from 10 PM to 11 PM.
Elon Musk said detecting low-contrast animals, such as grey cats on dark pavement, remains difficult at night.
When the pilot began in June 2025, vehicles were allowed to operate from 6 AM to midnight.
Tesla relies primarily on cameras, while Waymo combines cameras with lidar and radar.
The NHTSA is investigating about 3.2 million Tesla vehicles after low-visibility collisions involving Full Self-Driving.
- Who
- Tesla and its chief executive, Elon Musk; Waymo is cited as a comparison.
- What
- Tesla extended Austin Robotaxi operating hours by one hour, while nighttime detection of small, low-contrast animals remains a challenge.
- When
- The Austin service now runs until 11 PM; the pilot began in June 2025.
- Where
- Austin, Texas, for the Robotaxi service; the NHTSA investigation concerns Tesla vehicles in the United States.
- Why
- Tesla is working to improve the vehicles’ ability to detect animals in poor lighting as it seeks to extend Robotaxi operations.
Vision-based approach
Multiple-sensor approach
Which sensors autonomous vehicles need
Vision-based approach
Tesla has argued that a vision-based system can ultimately reach the performance needed for autonomous driving; Musk has dismissed lidar as unnecessary.
Multiple-sensor approach
Waymo uses cameras, lidar, and radar. A demonstration described by Waymo co-chief executive Dmitri Dolgov showed lidar registering children and dogs on an unlit road when the camera view was difficult to interpret.
What the evidence establishes
Vision-based approach
The article says the comparison does not establish that lidar is essential for safe autonomous driving, and the NHTSA inquiry has not found that Tesla’s camera strategy caused the incidents under investigation.
Multiple-sensor approach
The nighttime demonstration and the reported investigation underscore concerns about detecting objects in poor visibility and the potential value of sensor information beyond cameras.
- New Austin cutoff
- 11 PM, one hour later than the previous 10 PM cutoff.
- Initial pilot hours
- 6 AM to midnight when the service began in June 2025.
- Musk's example
- Avoiding “grey kittens on grey tarmac in the dark.”
- Tesla sensor approach
- Tesla has made cameras central to its autonomous-driving strategy.
- Waymo sensor approach
- Waymo uses cameras alongside lidar and radar, and its service operates around the clock.
- NHTSA inquiry
- The agency is investigating about 3.2 million Tesla vehicles following low-visibility collisions involving Full Self-Driving.
- Investigation status
- The inquiry has not established that Tesla’s camera-based strategy caused the reported incidents.