Tesla Owner Alleges Self-Driving Mode Steered Him To Train Tracks, Twice

A Tesla owner from Ohio, using the username cdotyii, sought information on incidents involving Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) mode on the Tesla Motors Club forum (www.teslamotorsclub.com). He reported that his Tesla “attempted to drive directly into a passing train while in FSD mode,” with the most recent occurrence on May 8, 2024. He shared dashcam footage from this incident via a Dropbox link.

This footage was subsequently posted on X by @ArtemR, going viral with 3.2 million views. The post included the Tesla owner’s forum caption and added, “Cameras are good enough for FSD – Elon Musk. Unless you don’t want to get hit by a train.”

The video depicts a Tesla moving quickly in foggy conditions. Blinking lights from an unclear source can be seen in the distance. As the car proceeds, the outline of a moving freight train appears. The driver swerves to avoid the train, crashing into the barrier at the railway crossing.

In foggy weather, the FSD mode caused the car to ram into a moving train. The photo shared by the user shows damage to the car’s front end. According to an MSN report, the owner asserts that the FSD mode was active during both near-collisions at different train crossings.

After the video went viral, many users emphasized that drivers remain responsible for the vehicle even when using FSD. One user commented, “It’s called FSD “Supervised” for a reason. The real question is why weren’t you paying attention? With this Level 2 autonomy, the driver is still responsible for everything that the car does wrong…” Another remarked, “Talk about slow reaction time lmao. Get off of your phone and pay attention. You could have easily slowed down yourself without having to crash.”

A third user questioned the owner’s intentions, saying, “Your after clicks. You’re supposed to be in control yet you didn’t take control when in the video it was clear to me that there was something ahead that required your action. The fog doesn’t help and these cases will get sorted I am sure. Did you sent the info to Tesla or just post it here for clicks ?”