Tesla’s “activist shareholders” appear to be one of the biggest threats to the company and its CEO Elon Musk, who has spoken extensively about them in recent times. They are up to their latest work against the company, sues both Tesla and Musk and accuse them of securities fraud by claiming that the hidden “significant risk” over Robotaxi launch in Austin, Texas.
On Monday night, a group of shareholders sued Tesla and Musk in a proposed lawsuit in Texas Federal Court. They claim that Tesla misleaded investors about the security of the vehicles used in the Robotaxi Escape in Austin, which started on June 22.
The suite shows that videos show vehicles “speed, showing sudden braking, running over a curb, going into the wrong lane and dropping passengers in the middle of multilane roads.” Reuters reported first about the trial.
The applicants seek compensation for shareholders between April 19, 2023 and June 22, 2025.
Teslas Robotaxi platform has worked for less than two months and the company has already expanded its geofence in Austin twice.
🚨 Tesla Austin Robotaxi Geofence Sizes (in Square Miles):
Initial: 6/22 – ~ 20 square miles
First Extension: 7/14 – ~ 42 square miles
Other extension: 8/3 – ~ 80 square miles pic.twitter.com/iwnvsjsee4
– Teslarati (@teslarati) August 3, 2025
In the approximately six weeks that Robotaxi has been in operation, Tesla has only had an incident reported to the Austin government and it was a “security concern” in June 2025. Since July 2023, which is when Autonom Vehicle operation began in Austin, 130 events have been reported. Av riding, cruise, Waymo and Zoox also operate in Austin.
Waymo has the most events with 73. The first was in June 2024 when a unit blocked traffic.
Activist shareholders
Musk has warned that activist shareholders are potentially dangerous to both Tesla and his position as CEO. He recently talked about them during Q2 earnings on his share in the company:
“That is a Major Concern for Me, as I’ve Mentioned in the Past. In HOPE THAT IS ADDRESSED AT THE UPCOMING SHARE HOLDERS MEETING. BUT, YEAH, IT IS A BIG DEAL. I WANT TO FIND THAT I’VE GOT So Little Control Robots.
Tesla’s Board of Directors yesterday made an attempt to help secure Musk’s share by offering him a massive 96 million limited share with limited share. It will only help his share in the company to beat up to 14.6 percent from 12.9 percent.