A mannequin simulating a child crossing the street to board a school bus was crushed over and over again by a Tesla equipped with a self-driving feature on Thursday—safety advocates' latest warning of weaknesses in the automaker's tech as it prepares to launch robotaxis on Austin roads.

Tesla Inc. already had a lot riding on its highly anticipated robotaxi launch long before Elon Musk decided to swing a wrecking ball through his alliance with President Donald Trump — and the

Even as Tesla deliveries plunged nationally this year amid Elon Musk's very visible (if short-lived) alliance with President Trump, there was at least one state where Tesla registrations were up: Texas.

Free car giveaways are typically associated with TV game shows, radio sweepstakes, or halftime contests, but right now there’s one being hosted directly by an automaker. By participating in Tesla’s “TeslaVision” contest, you could score a brand-new Model Y and a private tour of the Texas Gigafactory.

Some Texans weren't perturbed by Tesla's growing unpopularity earlier this year, as registrations of Tesla EVs saw a boost in Texas. According to registration data Axios obtained through public information requests,

With Tesla just days away from a planned rollout of its paid robotaxi service in Austin, the electric vehicle manufacturer is reportedly trying to prevent city officials from releasing records related to its robotaxi trial period.

Chinese electric-vehicle makers led by BYD beat Tesla in the competition to produce affordable electric vehicles. Now, many of those same fierce competitors are pulling into the passing lane in the global race to produce self-driving cars.