Footage of Tesla phantom braking causing 8-car crash pile-up emerges
Footage of the Tesla vehicle allegedly on “Full Self-Driving” that caused an eight-car crash pile-up in San Francisco in November has emerged.
It appears to show a classic case of phantom braking.
In November, an eight-car pile-up on the San Francisco Bay Bridge made the news after resulting in some minor injuries and blocking the traffic for over an hour.
But the headline was that the car that caused it was reportedly a “Tesla on self-driving mode,” or at least that’s what the driver told the police.
Now, as we know, Tesla does not have a “self-driving mode.” It has something it calls the “Full Self-Driving package,” which now includes Full Self-Driving Beta or FSD Beta.
FSD Beta enables Tesla vehicles to drive autonomously to a destination entered in the car’s navigation system, but the driver needs to remain vigilant and ready to take control at all times.
Since the responsibility rests with the driver and not Tesla’s system, it is still considered a level-two driver-assist system, despite its name.
Following the accident, the driver of the Tesla told the police that the vehicle was in “Full self-driving mode,” but the police seemed to understand the nuances in the accident report:
P-1 stated V-1 was in Full self-driving mode at the time of the crash, I am unable to verify if V-1’s Full 24 Self-Driving Capability was active at the time of the crash. On 11/24/2022, the latest Tesla Full Self 25 Driving Beta Version was 11 and is classified as SAE Intemational Level 2. SAE International Level2 is 26 not classified as an autonomous vehicle. Under Level 2 classification, the human in the driver seat must 27 constantly supervise support features including steering, braking, or accelerating as needed to maintain 28 safety. If the FullSelfDriving Capability software malfunctioned, P-1 should of manually taken control of 29 V-1 by over-riding the FullSelf Driving Capability feature.
Now The Intercept has obtained footage of the accident, and it clearly shows the Tesla vehicle abruptly coming to a stop for no apparent reason:
This phenomenon is often referred to as “phantom braking,” and it has been known to happen on Tesla Autopilot and FSD Beta.
Back in November of 2021, Electrek released a report called “Tesla has a serious phantom braking problem in Autopilot.” It highlighted a significant increase in Tesla owners reporting dangerous phantom braking events on Autopilot.
This issue was not new in Tesla’s Autopilot, but our report focused on Tesla drivers noticing an obvious increase in instances based on anecdotal evidence, but it was also backed by a clear increase in complaints to the NHTSA. Our report made the rounds in a few other outlets, but the issue didn’t really go mainstream until The Washington Post released a similar report in February 2022. A few months later, NHTSA opened an investigation into the matter.
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Environment
Tesla releases details about ‘Robotaxi’ launch: there’s a ‘safety monitor’ in front seat
Tesla has released the details about its planned ‘Robotaxi’ launch in Austin, Texas, this weekend, and it’s even worse than we thought. There’s going to be a “safety monitor” in the front seat.
Over the last few weeks, we have been discussing how Tesla’s planned launch of a “Robotaxi” service was a game of smoke and mirrors, meant to improve the optics of the automaker’s self-driving efforts as Waymo emerges as a clear leader.
The planned service is a geo-fenced and teleoperation-supported ride-hailing service operated by a small internal fleet, which is completely different from Tesla’s long-promised unsupervised self-driving in consumer vehicles through its “Full Self-Driving program.”
Furthermore, we have been reported on Tesla’s limited testing in Austin, which CEO Elon Musk claimed involved “no driver”, but test vehicles have all been spotted with Tesla employees in the front passenger seats with access to buttons to stop the car or have it pull over.
In comparison, Waymo tested its vehicles for 6 months with a safety driver in the car and 6 months without a safety driver in the car in Austin before launching its commercial service earlier this year.
Now, Tesla has sent invitations to some known pro-Tesla influencers, primarily on Musk’s X social media platform, to experience the launch of the Robotaxi service this weekend.
The invitations confirm extreme limitations in the service, with the most significant one being the presence of a “safety monitor” in the passenger seat.
Here are the other requirements listed:
- You must agree to Terms of Service, Rider Rules, Privacy Notice, and Service Animal Policy.
- You must have a credit/debit card on file.
- You can request a ride via the app from 6:00 AM to 12:00 AM, within the geofenced area (excluding airports).
- Operational hours and geofence details are available in the app and may change.
- Service may be limited or unavailable in inclement weather.
- Only the invited user may download and use the Robotaxi app.
- Participants must be courteous and respectful; unsafe or disrespectful behavior may lead to termination.
- Riders should provide a star rating and feedback in the app.
- Photos and videos of the experience are permitted.
- Smoking, vaping, consuming alcohol, and using drugs are not permitted inside the Robotaxi.
- Robotaxi may not be used in connection with any crime or to transport weapons or illegal/hazardous materials (e.g., flammable or combustible liquids).
- Surveillance, reverse engineering, or recording of proprietary Robotaxi components or features is strictly prohibited.
- Tesla may suspend or terminate access if:
- You violate any of these rules.
- You post or share content on social media that depicts misuse or violations inside the Robotaxi.
In short, Tesla’s “Robotaxi” service is going to launch with the supervision of Tesla employees in the front seat at all times. It’s limited to 6 am to 12 am and it doesn’t work in “inclement weather.
Electrek’s Take
Again, like I repeatedly said, this is all about optics. Tesla is just trying to get a win and say that it “launched its robotaxi on time in June” when this is basically Tesla’s public FSD with the supervising driver being moved to the passenger seat.
At least it’s going to be safer than if Tesla went without it, but it clearly shows that Tesla is falling far behind Waymo and the competition when it comes to self-driving.
The main thing that people like about Waymo and there are even willing to pay more than Uber is the fact that there’s no one else in the car.
This simply won’t scale. Tesla has yet to solve self-driving. It needs to focus on that instead of appearences.
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the Tesla Robotaxi launch this weekend, the new Nissan Leaf, Ford’s upcoming low-cost EVs, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
Today, the episode is live at 8 a.m instead due to Fred’s travels in China.
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