Tesla Driver Blames Full Self Driving Software for Having a Major Crash, as per Police Report

Tesla's Full Self Driving software is being blamed for causing a major accident in the Yerba Buena Tunnel in California last month. The incident left nine people with minor injuries and one child hospitalized.

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SINDELFINGEN, GERMANY - DECEMBER 08: The building that houses the local Tesla electric car dealership on December 08, 2022 in Sindelfingen, Germany. According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, a recent series of threatening packages, many of which included bloody animal eyes, sent to Ukrainian diplomatic missions across Europe all originated from Germany and had the Sindelfingen Tesla dealership as the sender's address. Employees at the dealership have reportedly reacted to the news with astonishment and perplexity.

Blaming Tesla's Full Self Driving

Last month, an eight-car pile-up happened in Yerba Buena Island Tunnel in California during Thanksgiving. According to The Verge, the driver of the Tesla vehicle blamed the automaker's Full Self-Driving (FSD) software that malfunctioned unexpectedly.

Meanwhile, police were unsure and unable to determine if the software was in operation during the accident, as they do not trust the driver's account accuracy.

They said that the driver should have manually taken control once he knew that the software malfunctioned, as Tesla repeatedly suggested that FSD requires active driver supervision and is not fully autonomous.

Aside from this, drivers were also warned during installation that the software "may do the wrong thing at the worst time." Due to a records request, the report was released publicly.

Eight-Vehicle Pile-Up

As per the reviewed footage, California Highway Patrol (CHP) found out that the Tesla vehicle made an unsafe lane change before slowing down from 55 mph to 20 mph. This caused the eight vehicles behind to crash into one another. Four ambulances were called to the scene.

Adding to the inconvenience, CNN Business reported that the road was in bad traffic on Interstate 80 east of the Bay Bridge. Two lanes of traffic were closed for one and a half hours due to many people traveling to celebrate the holiday during that time.

All of these happened during Thanksgiving this year, which affected nine people with minor injuries and one child hospitalized. As of now, the incident is still being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

FSD's Availability

Hours before the incident, The Guardian reported that Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Elon Musk said that FSD will be available to anyone who requested it in North America. The software was exclusively offered before to drivers with high safety scores.

Full Self Driving is designed to keep the vehicle up with traffic, steer in the lane, and abide traffic signals.

Previous Accidents

Last September, an accident involving a 2021 Tesla occurred on Salem Church Road at midnight. The EV crashed into a tree outside the road, which caught fire and resulted in the death of the driver and front seat passenger.

Tesla also sent a report last November to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, with dozens of crashes. The company was on the top of the list for most crashes involving advanced driver-assist features.