Tesla Cybertruck Crashes Into Pole While Using Full Self-Driving Mode
A Tesla Cybertruck crashed into a utility pole while operating on the latest version of the company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, raising fresh concerns about the technology’s reliability.
The incident was reported by Jonathan Challinger, a Florida-based software developer, who shared images of the damaged vehicle on social media. Challinger said he was using Tesla’s FSD v13.2.4 when the truck failed to merge out of a right lane that was ending, despite an open lane to the left. Instead, the Cybertruck hit a curb and veered into a pole.
Fortunately, Challinger was unharmed and took full responsibility for not intervening. He acknowledged that the system is not flawless but admitted he did not expect such an accident while driving slowly on an empty road.
“I don’t expect it to be infallible, but I definitely didn’t have ‘utility pole in my face’ on my bingo card,” he wrote.
Challinger, a loyal Tesla supporter, praised the vehicle’s safety features for protecting him. He also reached out to Tesla’s AI division, asking how to ensure the company receives data from the crash, noting that customer support had been unresponsive. He mentioned having dashcam footage but hesitated to share it publicly to avoid fueling criticism of the technology.
Tesla enthusiast Troy Teslike weighed in on the incident, suggesting that FSD’s struggles with road markings at night, the lack of persistent digital mapping for some road features, and the system’s vision-based detection limitations may have contributed to the crash.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously stated that unsupervised FSD would roll out in Texas and California this year. However, incidents like this suggest the technology may still require significant refinement.
Tesla’s owner manual specifies that FSD requires driver supervision at all times. The system issues escalating warnings if the driver does not apply force to the steering wheel or remain attentive. If ignored, the software disables itself for the remainder of the trip and can even bring the vehicle to a stop as a last resort.
