Stacking of eight Thanksgiving cars blamed on Tesla's 'Full Self-Driving' software

Enlarge / Tesla's camera-only approach to driver assistance continues to cause it problems. Aurich Lawson | You're here

An eight-car collision on Thanksgiving Day (November 24) is now blamed on Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) assistance system. The crash happened in the Bay Area, California on I-80 and left one person hospitalized and eight others with minor injuries.

According to Reuters, a California Highway Patrol report on the incident states that a Tesla Model S traveling on I-80 at 55 mph crossed multiple lanes of traffic, then abruptly slowed to just 20 mph, at which point it triggered the crash because other cars still traveling at highway speeds had no chance of avoiding the slow electric vehicle.

Reuters says the driver blamed the crash on the controversial 'Full Self-Driving' system, which he said was "malfunctioning but police were unable to determine if the software was working or if it was damaged. statement was accurate."

Actually, it looks like the police can't figure this out. CNN spoke to a CHP spokesperson who told the outlet that "this would not determine if 'Full Self-Driving' was active, and Tesla would have that information."

As Tesla expanded its beta program for FSD, the system was implicated in more crashes, and in late 2021 the automaker had to issue a recall for cars running firmware related to so-called events. of "phantom braking", where bad software inappropriately triggered the cars automatic emergency braking systems.

This is just one of many issues associated with Tesla's assistance systems that have prompted at least 38 NHTSA investigations this summer, according to Electrek. Anger directed at the FSD and Tesla's attitude toward rolling out the system on public roads even led to a Senate candidacy this year.

FSD is an important source of revenue for Tesla. Earlier this year, CEO Elon Musk told investors it would "become the most important source of profitability for Tesla," and the company repeatedly hiked the price of the software package, which now costs $15,000.

Originally, access to the beta software was by invitation only, and its use depended on maintaining a high score in a driver monitoring system. But Tesla opened the beta to any car with the right hardware on the same day as the eight-car crash.