Tesla vehicle in 'full self-driving' beta mode 'severely damaged' after crash in California

A Tesla Model Y in "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) beta mode reportedly crashed in downtown Bray, southeast of Los Angeles, on November 3 in what appears to be the first incident involving the company's controversial driver assistance feature. is likely to. No one was injured in the accident, but the vehicle was reportedly "seriously damaged".

The accident was reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has multiple, overlapping investigations into Tesla's Autopilot system. The incident report appears to have been made by the owner of the Model Y. A spokesperson for NHTSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

according to the report:

The vehicle was in FSD beta mode and while turning left the car went into the wrong lane and I was hit by another driver in the street next to my lane. The car gave 1/2 way through the turn so I tried to turn the wheel to avoid getting into the wrong lane but the car took control and drove itself into the wrong lane and everyone made an unsafe maneuver . risk. The car was badly damaged on the side of the driver.

Tesla's decision to test its "full self-driving" driver assistance software with untrained vehicle owners on public roads has attracted an enormous amount of scrutiny and criticism. Throughout, the company has rolled out — and withdrawn — a number of software updates to upgrade systems while addressing bugs in the software.

Several video clips have been uploaded online showing Tesla owners using the FSD beta, with varying degrees of success. Some clips show the Driver Assist system confidently handling complex driving scenarios, while others depict the car turning into the wrong lane or making other serious mistakes.

Despite its name, FSD is not an autonomous driving system. Drivers need to be careful while walking on the road and keeping their hands on the steering wheel. Vehicles with highly automated driving systems that still require human supervision are classified as Level 2 under the Society of Automotive Engineers taxonomy. (Level 5 describes a vehicle that can drive anywhere, under any circumstances, without human supervision.)

The US government has taken a renewed interest in Tesla, recently announcing that it is investigating incidents involving Tesla cars running on Autopilot that crashed into parked emergency vehicles.

NHTSA is asking Tesla for more information about FSD's growing public beta testing, the recently introduced "Safety Score" evaluation process for entry into the program, and Tesla participants in the non-disclosure agreement. Had been.

A Tesla spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment -- nor is it likely that they will in 2019 after disbanding their press department.