Fired Tesla Manager Says Full Self-Driving Cars Were 'Rolling Hazards'

Summary

A former Tesla manager overseeing Full Self-Driving testing operations in Houston has filed a lawsuit alleging unlawful retaliation after raising concerns about systemic safety defects. Javier Medrano managed a team of safety operators from October 2024 to May 2025, but claims Tesla refused to provide adequate resources despite his team growing to 38 operators — far exceeding the recommended 1-to-15 manager-to-operator ratio. According to the lawsuit, Tesla's Autopilot Director Pete Scheutzow dismissed Medrano's concerns about working conditions and resource constraints.

The situation escalated when a crash occurred under Medrano's watch while he was asleep, after which he provided unsafe guidance to the operator involved. Medrano alleges that his subsequent attempts to formally escalate the safety issues and prove Tesla's resource inadequacy led to his termination. He is now seeking reinstatement, back pay, compensation for emotional distress, and restitution for unvested equity. The lawsuit paints a picture of management failures alongside technical concerns already under scrutiny by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The allegations suggest that Tesla's robotaxi safety issues may extend beyond software limitations to systemic operational and managerial shortcomings. Previous reports by Reuters indicated that Tesla data labelers frequently observe FSD failures at basic driving tasks, raising questions about the overall readiness of the autonomous system.

• The lawsuit raises concerns about Tesla's operational management alongside existing NHTSA investigations and reports of FSD software limitations
• Medrano seeks reinstatement, back pay, compensatory damages, and restitution for unvested equity in his retaliation lawsuit