Ex-Tesla manager sues, alleging robotaxi tests were dangerously understaffed

A former Tesla operations manager has sued the automaker over wrongful termination, alleging that extreme understaffing turned the company's autonomous vehicle testing fleet in Houston into a public hazard.

According to the lawsuit filed by Javier Medrano, who oversaw test fleets paving the way for robotaxi rollouts in Houston and Dallas, Tesla expanded its local testing operations from 15 to 38 vehicles and drivers by mid-2024. While other testing hubs distributed oversight across multiple managers, Medrano claims he was left as the sole manager in Houston handling video reviews, patrols, and incident investigations.

The complaint states that test drivers averaged 60 to 80 hours per week, requiring Medrano to remain reachable around the clock, including weekends. When he formally requested additional personnel in February 2025, management reportedly instructed him to simply set his phone to "Do Not Disturb."

The breaking point arrived on March 30, 2025, at 2:05 a.m., when an autonomous test vehicle struck a pedestrian. The driver phoned Medrano, who claims he answered in his sleep due to severe sleep deprivation and retained no memory of the conversation. Tesla fired Medrano on May 1, 2025, citing failure to delegate authority, before promoting an operator and bringing in two team leads from Dallas to cover the workload.

Medrano, now employed at another electric vehicle manufacturer, is seeking reinstatement, back pay, and damages. The filing lands alongside regulatory scrutiny: data from the NHTSA showed 207 reported crashes involving Tesla driver-assist systems in May 2026 alone, with 826 incidents recorded in the first half of that year.

Source: habr via Electrek