All posts tagged: Autopilot

Tracking the fatal Tesla Autopilot and FSD crashes hidden in its data

Tracking the fatal Tesla Autopilot and FSD crashes hidden in its data

Published by skeptic

Tesla reports its Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving” crashes to the federal government, as it’s required to — and then blacks out almost everything in those reports, so the public never learns what happened in those crashes. Tesla always end up blaming the driver. We’re matching those redacted reports, one by one, to real fatal crashes that were covered in the news as ordinary accidents. This is a running investigation, and we’ll add each crash we confirm to this page. You can view this as an investigative hub keeping track of our ongoing investigation. What the data shows Under a 2021 NHTSA Standing General Order (SGO), automakers must report crashes where a Level 2 driver-assist system was engaged within 30 seconds of impact and someone was hurt, killed, or a vehicle was towed. Tesla accounts for roughly 85% of the entire industry’s reports — nearly 4,000 crashes — and the count climbs every year. Tesla ADAS crashes reported to NHTSA, by incident month. Source: NHTSA SGO 2021-01 / Electrek analysis. We believe that between FSD and …

7 Signs You’re Running On Autopilot

7 Signs You’re Running On Autopilot

Published by Sam Flores

Your schedule may be packed. You see your friends regularly. You might even be progressing in your career or hitting new personal goals. But behavioural coach Elizabeth Walker, founder of The Empowerment Warrior, told HuffPost UK that “it is possible to keep showing up for work, relationships and responsibilities while feeling emotionally absent from your own life”. She added that people who run on “autopilot” can sometimes appear to be functioning capably and productively on the outside, while inside, they feel a deep detachment from their reality. “The signs can be easy to overlook until you realise you no longer feel like yourself,” Walker added. Here, she shared seven signs you might not be fully present: 1) You’re constantly tired One in eight Brits say they feel tired “all the time”, and Walker points out that this doesn’t always come from running on autopilot. Still, she said, it can sometimes be the earliest sign you’ve been tapping out. “Constant exhaustion can suggest a person has little space to pause, reset or fully engage,” she explained. …

Tesla FSD v14 Lite tied to rising HW3 computer failures, owners report

Tesla FSD v14 Lite tied to rising HW3 computer failures, owners report

Published by skeptic

A growing number of Tesla owners running the new Full Self-Driving v14 “Lite” build on Hardware 3 (HW3) vehicles are reporting Autopilot computer overheating alerts — and, in some cases, outright computer failures. The reports have stacked up in the two weeks since Tesla pushed v14 Lite to wide release, and four owners have contacted Electrek directly about the same problem. What FSD v14 Lite is doing to older hardware Tesla started rolling out FSD v14 Lite to HW3 cars in late June and pushed it to wide release with software version 2026.20.6.11 (FSD v14.3.6) on July 21. The build is a distilled version of the HW4 v14 model, squeezed down to run on the memory-constrained AI3 computer. That computer is the constraint: HW3 ships with 8GB of RAM and roughly one-eighth of HW4’s memory bandwidth, which is why Tesla was stuck running v12.6 on these cars for more than a year before the Lite build. Advertisement – scroll for more content Now that a heavier v14-derived model is running on that hardware, owners are …

New Tesla ‘Full Self-Driving’ class action hilariously cites Electrek

New Tesla ‘Full Self-Driving’ class action hilariously cites Electrek

Published by skeptic

A new proposed class action accuses Tesla of selling “Full Self-Driving” on millions of vehicles that are physically incapable of delivering it — and to make its case, the 51-page complaint repeatedly cites Electrek’s own reporting. The suit, Waller v. Tesla (No. 4:26-cv-05350-KAW), was filed June 4 in the Northern District of California and covers cars built with Tesla’s Hardware 1, 2, 2.5, and 3 computers — effectively every Tesla sold with the FSD option from 2017 through early 2023. What the lawsuit claims The complaint, brought by Migliaccio & Rathod LLP, alleges that Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have “deceptively and misleadingly” marketed vehicles with HW1 through HW3 as having all the hardware needed for fully autonomous driving — including the “coast-to-coast” trips Musk promised back in 2016. In reality, the suit says, those cars are “incapable of safely and reliably traveling without human intervention,” and Tesla’s system has “never” advanced beyond SAE Level 2 — driver assistance that requires constant human supervision — despite years of claims that the cars were one software …

Tesla pushes back on Autopilot narrative after fatal Texas crash

Tesla pushes back on Autopilot narrative after fatal Texas crash

Published by skeptic

A fatal crash in which a Tesla plowed through a brick home in Katy, Texas, killing a 76-year-old woman, set off alarms about the company’s driver-assistance technology. By Monday afternoon, Tesla was fighting back against the framing. The crash occurred Friday night when a Tesla Model 3, driven by Michael Butler, left the road and slammed into the home of Martha Avila, who was airlifted to a hospital and later pronounced dead. Butler told Harris County sheriff’s deputies that the vehicle was on Autopilot at the time. That detail spread quickly, and by the weekend the story had become the centerpiece of long-running debate over Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (Supervised) driver-assistance systems. But Tesla, a company that famously dismantled its PR department years ago, broke from its usual silence Monday to push back. Ashok Elluswamy, vice president of AI software at Tesla and the first engineer hired for the Autopilot team back in 2014, took to X to offer a very different account of what the data showed. “In this case, the driver manually …

A driver reportedly using Tesla’s autopilot systems crashed into home, killing resident

A driver reportedly using Tesla’s autopilot systems crashed into home, killing resident

Published by skeptic

Tesla, one of several businesses owned by now-trillionaire Elon Musk, has been implicated in another deadly crash involving the vehicles’ autopilot driving mode. On June 19, a driver in a Tesla Model 3 crashed into a Texas home, killing a 76-year-old female resident. According to Harris County Sheriff’s authorities, the driver was using “an automated driving assistance system” that failed to remain in its lane and instead veered into the residence at a deadly speed. The driver did not show signs of drug or alcohol impairment, according to reports. SEE ALSO: SpaceX stock price: Where it stands, what you need to know It’s not yet confirmed if the driver had attempted to break or disengage the autopilot mode before the crash. Mashable Light Speed Tesla has faced several legal fights over its fleet of self-driving vehicles and robotaxis, including a 2025 decision that found the company partially responsible for a fatal autopilot-related crash in Florida. Despite regulator pushback, the company has fought to retain the right to refer to its systems, including Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Capability …

Tesla driver says it was on Autopilot before fatal Texas home crash

Tesla driver says it was on Autopilot before fatal Texas home crash

Published by skeptic

A driver told Harris County investigators that his Tesla was on Autopilot before it left a residential road in Katy, Texas, crashed through the brick wall of a home, and killed a 76-year-old woman inside. The crash happened around 8 p.m. Friday in the 21300 block of Rose Hollow Lane, according to the Harris County Precinct 5 Constable’s Office and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. What investigators have confirmed According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the Tesla failed to make a right turn at an intersection and continued forward at a high rate of speed before crashing directly into the front room of the residence. A 76-year-old woman was standing inside that room when the vehicle entered the home and struck her. She was flown by Life Flight to Memorial Hermann hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. Advertisement – scroll for more content The driver, identified by authorities only as a 44-year-old man, was taken to a hospital by ambulance. Investigators said he showed no signs of intoxication and has been cooperating with …

Chinese Drivers Are Using Tiny Plastic Heads to Fool Tesla’s Autopilot Safeguards

Chinese Drivers Are Using Tiny Plastic Heads to Fool Tesla’s Autopilot Safeguards

Published by skeptic

In China, for just $30, you can have Dwayne Johnson drive your Tesla for you. Sounds too cheap to be true? Well, it is. What you’re actually buying is a tiny replica of The Rock’s head, designed to sit above the rearview mirror and trick Tesla into thinking an attentive driver is behind the wheel. Tesla’s self-driving system appears unable to tell the difference between the figurines and a real person, allowing the actual driver to look away from the road, scroll through their phone, or even doze off—activities that are supposed to be prohibited while assisted-driving features are engaged. Last week, videos showing the miniature heads at work inside Tesla cars went viral. I fell into a deep rabbit hole browsing ecommerce sites and online forums to learn more about where they came from. The figurines come in dozens of varieties, most depicting Hollywood or Chinese celebrities. Some appear to be repurposed dolls or figurines. They are just one example of the creative, but also potentially dangerous, ways that Chinese Tesla owners are trying …

Tesla promotes FSD misuse in its own videos — undermining its legal defense

Tesla promotes FSD misuse in its own videos — undermining its legal defense

Published by skeptic

Tesla is facing up to $14.5 billion in lawsuits related to its “Full Self-Driving” and Autopilot systems — and the company’s own marketing department keeps making the problem worse. In two official promotional videos published in the last three weeks, Tesla showed a driver making espresso while FSD drives and shared footage where FSD committed multiple traffic violations in Denmark. The problem is obvious: Tesla’s entire legal defense in crash lawsuits rests on the argument that drivers are responsible for supervising FSD at all times. But Tesla’s own promotional content actively encourages the opposite behavior. Tesla’s espresso video: “Try it yourself” On May 26, Tesla’s official account on X posted a video of a driver making espresso in the driver’s seat while FSD Supervised drives. The video, credited to creator @lucapasturini, shows the driver operating a portable espresso machine — hands off the wheel, eyes off the road — with the caption: “I do my espresso while I’m driving.” With FSD Supervised, your Tesla can drive you anywhere you want Try it yourself — Tesla …

Tesla now forces drivers to give feedback when intervening on ‘Full Self-Driving’

Tesla now forces drivers to give feedback when intervening on ‘Full Self-Driving’

Published by skeptic

Screenshot Tesla has quietly made it mandatory for drivers to provide feedback every time they intervene on “Full Self-Driving.” The prompt, which used to disappear on its own after a few seconds, now stays on screen indefinitely until the driver selects a reason or sends a voice note. The change arrived with FSD v14.3.2 as part of software update 2026.2.9.9, which rolled out in late April. Tesla didn’t announce the new behavior — the company retroactively updated the release notes to mention it. What changed Previously, when a driver took over from FSD, a feedback prompt would pop up on the touchscreen asking why they intervened. You click on the voice button on the steering and automatically send Tesla a message about what happened. If you ignored it, it would go away after a few seconds. It was a great way for Tesla to get feedback on FSD. That’s no longer the case. Advertisement – scroll for more content With the latest update, the prompt sticks around until you either tap one of the on-screen …