A Tesla owner said his Model 3 in Full Self-Driving mode didn't slow down before it hit water on the road and crashed into a pond
David Zalubowski/AP
- A Tesla owner said his Model 3 didn't slow down before it hit water on a road in California.
- Ryan told YouTube channel Wham Baam Teslacam the vehicle was in Full Self-Driving mode at the time.
- The video showed the car passing a "flooded" sign before it encountered the water in Mono City.
A Tesla owner using his Model 3 in Full Self-Driving mode says the car didn't slow down when it encountered water across on a road, causing it to crash into a pond.
Speaking to YouTube channel Wham Baam Teslacam using only his first name, Ryan said he was driving the vehicle at 60 miles an hour in Mono City, California using the FSD capability.
Full Self-Driving is a beta add-on that allows Teslas to change lanes automatically, enter and exit highways, and recognize stop signs and traffic lights. However, it requires drivers to be "fully attentive" and ready to take control at any time.
According to Tesla's website, one FSD feature is automatic emergency braking when it detects "obstacles that the car may impact."
Ryan claimed that his Model 3 didn't slow down as it approached the water lying on the road. It then slid to the left and came to a stop half-submerged in flood water.
He told the channel he planned to sue Tesla as well as the city authorities. Video from the car's cameras showed a temporary "flooded" sign on the side of the road alerting drivers to the water ahead.
The vehicle was later towed out of the pond.
A Tesla Model S crashed on a bridge in San Francisco on Thanksgiving in 2022 with seven other vehicles, the Guardian reported. The driver told authorities that the FSD was active at the time of the crash and that it malfunctioned, claiming that it led to the incident.
There's been a total of 736 crashes and 17 deaths involving Teslas in Autopilot mode since 2019, The Washington Post reported in June.
Tesla's FSD or Autopilot software has been linked to numerous crashes. The company reportedly asked highway safety officials to redact information about whether driver-assistance software was in use during crashes, The New Yorker reported this month.
Tesla didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.