In an eye-opening incident in Austin, Texas, YouTuber Ellie Sheriff, a self-proclaimed Elon Musk enthusiast, experienced an unexpected turn during her first ride in a Tesla robotaxi.

During her trip, she received a strange call from Tesla instructing her and her passenger to exit the vehicle immediately due to impending weather conditions. In a video shared on her channel "Ellie in Space," Sheriff stood bewildered in a windy field explaining the situation.

"We had to get out of the robotaxi because weather is coming in," she reported, highlighting the confusion as their ride was abruptly canceled, leaving them stranded.

To make matters worse, the Tesla app indicated "high service demand," making it seem as though getting another robotaxi was a far-off hope. Surprisingly, moments later, they successfully hailed another vehicle to return to their starting point.

Sheriff, aiming for honest feedback, said, "I don't want to just be a Tesla rah-rah cheerleader. It is very cool. However, this is a limitation currently, how it is. You shouldn't have to terminate the service just because it’s about to rain."

This perplexing situation sheds light on the ongoing challenges Tesla faces with its autonomous ride-hailing service. The company has rolled out a much-anticipated yet severely limited version of the service, complete with human safety drivers—the results have been chaotic, featuring erratic steering, sudden braking near police cars, and questionable drop-off locations.

While the exact reason for cutting off Sheriff’s ride remains unclear, it raises questions about Tesla's decision to move away from using lidar technology in favor of relying solely on cameras for their driver assistance systems. Given the difficulties that come with adverse weather conditions, it appears Tesla is exercising caution.

Earlier this year, YouTuber and former NASA engineer Mark Rober shared a critical video showing how Tesla's so-called "Full Self-Driving" software can be misled by rain, bright lights, and even fake road illusions.

As Tesla faces record decreases in vehicle sales, the stakes for the company have never been higher. Musk is banking on the success of automation—a gamble he has fully committed to. Recently, Tesla announced it had delivered only 384,000 vehicles from April to June, a significant drop from 444,000 in the same timeframe last year, marking the largest decline in the company's history.

Stay tuned for more updates on the Tesla robotaxi saga!