Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has launched an investigation following one of its Cybertruck EVs crashing while operating in Full Self-Driving (FSD) mode in the United States.
The accident took place on February 9 and it has sparked new concerns about the safety of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology, ahead of the much-anticipated launch of Tesla’s robotaxi service in Texas.
Jonathan Challinger, the Cybertruck owner involved in the crash, shared news of the incident on X (formerly Twitter), and warned fellow Tesla drivers about the risks of becoming overly reliant on FSD.
He revealed that his Cybertruck failed to merge properly when a lane ended, resulting in a collision with a curb before slamming into a light pole. It has not officially been confirmed that the accident was due to a malfunction of Tesla’s FSD, but a police report acknowledged the possibility of mechanical issues with the car.
In response to a request for comment from London Insider, Tesla has said it is investigating the incident “in line with standard protocol when any of our electric vehicles are involved in an accident while in FSD mode.”
The incident comes just days after Tesla CEO Elon Musk had reiterated his commitment to launching a robotaxi service later this year.
Speaking during Tesla’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Musk announced that the service would initially debut in Austin, Texas—where regulations for autonomous vehicles are minimal—before expanding to other states, including California. Despite Musk’s assurances that Tesla would prioritize safety, this latest crash adds to the growing skepticism surrounding the company’s driver-assistance software.
Tesla has long faced regulatory scrutiny and criticism over its FSD software, with safety advocates arguing that the technology is still far from achieving full autonomy. Despite this, Musk remains optimistic, claiming that Tesla is on the verge of delivering an unsupervised self-driving experience as early as the second quarter of this year. However, data from independent sources suggests that true autonomy is still years away.