A former Tesla manager who oversaw the company's Full Self-Driving test fleet in Houston has filed a wrongful-termination complaint in US federal court, alleging that the program became a public hazard due to severe understaffing and unreasonable demands.
Tesla's Full Self-Driving test cars became 'rolling hazards on public streets' because of understaffing.
According to the lawsuit, Medrano was the sole operational manager for the Houston program by mid-2024, a time when Tesla was preparing to launch its driverless Robotaxi service. The company launched the service in Houston and Dallas in April 2025. By then, Medrano's workload had doubled from 15 vehicles and operators to 38 across three 24-hour shifts, creating what the lawsuit calls a 'dangerous 38:1 operator-to-manager ratio' — far exceeding Tesla's own 'mandated 15:1 safety baseline' set by Autopilot Director Pete Scheutzow.
The complaint states that other test cities had multiple safety leads, while Houston had only Medrano. Test drivers reportedly worked 60 to 80 hours a week on average and remained on-call through weekends.
The operator-to-manager ratio alleged in the lawsuit, exceeding Tesla's safety baseline of 15:1.
Collision and Aftermath
On March 30, 2025, at 2:05 a.m., one of Tesla's autonomous test vehicles hit a member of the public. Medrano, who was physically asleep at the time, processed the emergency call and gave what the lawsuit describes as unsafe guidance; he later reported having no recollection of the incident. The safety operator remained at the crash scene for about an hour and was reportedly approached by an allegedly impaired third party.
Medrano had sent an S.O.S. asking for time off in March 2025, the lawsuit says. When he raised staffing concerns in February, Tesla leadership gave him a performance ultimatum instead of hiring help. A Tesla HR representative allegedly told Medrano to put his phone on 'Do Not Disturb' rather than fix the understaffing. During a conversation with Scheutzow, Medrano expressed concern that the manager-to-operator ratio was causing him to not sleep or eat properly; Scheutzow replied, 'I don't get the impression you're drowning,' according to the complaint.
Tesla fired Medrano on May 1, 2025. The Autopilot director, identified as Pete Scheutzow, blamed Medrano for not delegating, according to the complaint. A stock award set to vest days after his termination was stripped. After firing Medrano, Tesla promoted one of his subordinates and brought in two team leads from Dallas, the lawsuit states.
Medrano now works for a rival electric vehicle company. He seeks reinstatement, back pay, front pay, compensatory damages for emotional distress and financial stress, and restitution for the unvested equity award.
The lawsuit claims Tesla's unwillingness to provide resources led to a 'breakdown in safety oversight and extreme exhaustion.' Tesla did not respond to requests for comment from Engadget. Separately, Reuters reported in May 2025 that Tesla may be exaggerating the safety of its Full Self-Driving software, and the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating Tesla's self-driving technology.