A Tesla driver shared disturbing dashcam footage that may give consumers pause about trusting the electric vehicle automaker to deliver on some of its promises for this year, perhaps threatening the United States' momentum toward introducing cleaner vehicles to roadways.
What's happening?
In Reddit's r/TeslaFSD forum, the driver posted a 15-second clip of their Model 3 running off the road directly into a tree. The original poster said they were operating on Full-Self Drive v13.2.8, which Tesla explains has "improved reward predictions for collision avoidance," among other things.
While Tesla's FSD features require supervision — meaning drivers may need to intervene to avoid a collision — the footage in which the Model 3 crosses the solid yellow line on the road and over the lane with oncoming traffic before ending up in the ditch is shocking, with the FSD system presumably misinterpreting a shadow across the road as a physical obstacle.
One Redditor suggested everything happened so quickly that it would've been hard to react. "There's absolutely nothing you could've done," they said. "It clearly thought that shadow was a barrier, but the scariest thing is it didn't brake AT ALL. This is a huge deal."
"What a nightmare," another responded after the OP shared a picture of their mangled Model 3.
"Glad you're ok, OP. That was pretty gnarly," a third said.
Why is this important?
Even though several Redditors were suspicious of the story, others jumped to the OP's defense, sharing that they, too, had "questionable" FSD experiences. At this point, the automaker's struggles to integrate FSD and other autonomous features into its vehicles are also well known.
In 2023, Tesla issued a voluntary recall on most of its early FSD models after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration identified the feature as a possible "crash risk."
Last year, the NHTSA opened an inquiry into Tesla's FSD software after four reported collisions, including a fatal one involving a pedestrian, per Reuters. In January, the agency opened another investigation into Tesla's "Actually Smart Summon" tech after additional crash reports.
And while Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said his autonomous "robotaxi" will be ready to go in Austin, Texas, in June, the company reportedly hasn't begun testing without a safety driver, raising concerns about whether this service will turn into another failure to deliver.
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Absolutely 👍 In comparison, competitor Waymo — which operates 250,000 self-driving rides per week, albeit not on highways — tested without a driver for six months before launching, per Electrek.
How could this impact consumers?
Tesla's stunning sales slump and plummeting stock value at the outset of 2025 may make things appear more dire for the EV industry than they are, as Musk's polarizing involvement in politics, along with the brand's history of broken promises, damaged its appeal for many.
While the automaker reported a 13% year-over-year dip in sales in Q1, the EV market as a whole soared, with consumers having myriad options to choose from when switching to an EV.
According to the International Energy Agency, EV sales grew by 35% in Q1 — the highest Q1 growth rate over the past three years. Gains were more modest in the U.S. at 11.4% year over year, according to Cox Automotive's Kelley Blue Book.
Nonetheless, the growth is a positive sign in more ways than one, regardless of which EV brand a consumer ultimately lands on.
For one, gas-powered vehicles spew planet-warming, asthma-linked pollution. However, transitioning to EVs (which don't produce tailpipe pollution) reduces overall pollution and contributes to better air quality. Beyond that, EV drivers report significant savings on fuel and maintenance: around $1,500 each year.
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