It’s becoming a frequent occurrence that the Tesla Cybertruck and other vehicles equipped with the automaker’s so-called “Full Self-Driving” system are alleged to have done something dangerous, sometimes even fatal. The latest incident, shared on the Tesla Cybertruck Owners group on Facebook, involves a man who was driving at 72 mph with the FSD system engaged when he says his EV suddenly swerved to the right, despite there being no apparent obstacle. A glitch in the FSD matrix? Perhaps, but it happened more than once, and on the second occasion, owner Tom Liu says he realized his Cybertruck was swerving to avoid, not an impending collision, but a white arrow painted on the road.
Tesla FSD Cameras Show Their Flaws Again
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been saying for years that his company’s camera-based “Vision” system is as good or better than other semi-autonomous driving tools, like radar and lidar systems, but this instance, in which Liu had to jerk the wheel straight to avoid a crash, highlights that camera-based systems are far from perfectly safe. If the Cybertruck he was driving had been equipped with radar and or lidar, it would have realized that the supposed obstacle was no more than an optical aid. “Thankfully, I was paying attention to the road and immediately took over,” wrote Liu. “Otherwise, my wife and I would have made the headlines.”
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We can’t embed posts from a private Facebook group, so you may want to check it out for yourself, but Liu included a video showing his Cybertruck driving on the freeway normally before abruptly veering off to the right when it approached a painted arrow on the asphalt. Worse still, other members of the group chimed in to share that this incident is not an isolated one. One owner said their Cybertruck “swerved twice in the span of 200 feet to dodge a cyclist symbol painted on the pavement,” while another said their Cybertruck was flummoxed by road repairs, where cracks filled in with back tar of a different shade and sheen to the surrounding asphalt were “making [the Cybertruck] hopscotch around on the freeway.”
Incapable Systems Create More Danger for FSD Users and Other Drivers
Other members of the group noted that their vehicle would slam on the brakes when encountering a stretch of road with burnout marks, or even when leaves blew into the path of their vehicle. While these are, at most, minor inconveniences, they could be highly hazardous in other scenarios, particularly if there’s other traffic nearby. Tesla has been facing several lawsuits over the years over its Autopilot and FSD systems’ unsafe behavior, and numerous field reports have triggered federal investigations. On the other hand, some Tesla users say their vehicle has saved them from serious crashes, and Tesla’s lawyers almost always argue that those who crash while using its semi-autonomous driver aids are at fault. Wherever the responsibility ultimately lies, there’s clear evidence that we’re still miles away from true self-driving cars that are safe in every scenario.
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