Full Self-Driving Was On
On March 25, 2026, Maggie Espinosa, a mother of five, was driving her Dodge pickup truck. A Tesla Model Y tried to make a left turn but ended up striking Espinosa’s vehicle, according to the Batavia police. Unfortunately, Maggie Espinosa passed away because of her injuries, leaving five children behind.
The report marked it as an ordinary intersection crash, but new findings suggest that there is more to the crash than police initially reported: Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) was on at the time of the accident.
Tesla
Known Information
At this point in time, the NHTSA has a Standing General Order that requires automakers to report crashes wherein a Level 2 or higher system is engaged within 30 seconds of the impact. Tesla had to submit a report wherein it revealed some information but hid others.
According to the report by Electrek, the Tesla Model Y’s FSD was marked as “verified engaged” before the impact. The last action the system did before impact was “Making Left Turn,” with the system logging 24 miles per hour at an intersection.
After the incident unfolded, the system recorded the event, and in Tesla’s report, it says that the vehicle struck the front of the pickup truck, which had the right of way and was going straight.
Tesla
Tesla’s Withholding Information
According to the report, FSD was active during the time of the crash, but there are other bits to the story that the company redacted and struck out as “confidential business information.” Parts like “Automation feature version (CBI),” “Within ODD? (CBI),” and “Crash narrative (CBI).” These bits of information are labeled “CBI,” which stands for confidential business information.
According to the source, the Batavia Police Department stated that the investigation “remains under investigation and is currently under review by the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office.” For the time being, no charges have been filed — yet. The source doesn’t state whether Espinosa’s camp will file a case against Tesla at the time of writing, but they won’t be the first to do so if they push through.
Also, the public account states that there was no mention of Autopilot, FSD, or any driver assist system. The report to the NHTSA, however, says otherwise, which could mean that the investigation could lead back to Tesla.
FSD, Not Autopilot, Was Likely On
Basic Autopilot and Advanced Driver Assistance systems do not make left turns when on. At best, they speed up and slow down on their own, but they do not navigate through turns. That’s where full self-driving comes in. FSD can make left-, right-, and even U-turns.
Electrek found the information by matching the information from the NHTSA report and the report of the Batavia Police Department. Tesla didn’t even come forward with the rest of the information itself. The only discrepancy with the findings is the time of the local police report and the time the accident was logged in Tesla’s NHTSA report.
However, there is a catch to this. While FSD was on, there is no definitive proof that it was the one to blame in the incident. While it was active, the rest of the information that could shed more light on the story is being gatekept by Tesla itself. At this point in time, FSD is still in its beta stage, and using it may risk more than just a car. In this case, and in others, FSD is still imperfect and causing problems.
Tesla
