Tesla User Crashes During Live Broadcast of Using Autopilot Feature

Illustration of the use of the FSD feature on Tesla. (Photo: Teslarati)

Niat hati memamerkan kecanggihan teknologi justru berubah menjadi sebuah kecelakaan. Sebuah Tesla Model 3 terlibat tabrakan frontal setelah melaju melawan arus lalu lintas, tepat ketika fitur Full Self Driving (FSD) diaktifkan dalam sebuah siaran langsung di platform Douyin.

The incident comes shortly after Tesla introduced its Level 2 FSD driver assistance system in China earlier this year. As in the United States, the feature still requires full supervision from the driver.

In fact, local authorities had asked Tesla to reconsider the naming of "Full Self-Driving" because it was considered not to fully reflect the system's capabilities. Meanwhile in China, euphoria towards FSD is quite high, reported from Electrek, Thursday, December 25.

Many Tesla owners have tested this feature publicly via live broadcasts on social media, trying to show that the car can drive itself. This also compares it with the technology of local competitors.

Unfortunately, one of the broadcasts ended badly. In a video that went viral, a Tesla Model 3 driven by a Douyin user was seen suddenly switching to the left lane, a special lane for vehicles from the opposite direction.

As a result, the Tesla car hit another car in front of it in a frontal collision. The live broadcast was not crowded with spectators, but the footage of the accident spread quickly on social media.

Fortunately, the accident did not cause serious injuries. Even so, the public questioned whether FSD was really active during the incident.

Initially, the driver withheld the release of the video on the grounds that he was trying to get direct compensation from Tesla. Where, it was a step that was considered difficult, given that the manufacturer always insists that responsibility remains with the driver.

The doubts were finally answered, the complete recording released later showed that FSD was active and became the trigger for the shift in the wrong direction. This case once again highlights the dangers of relying too much on driving assistance systems.

Meanwhile, a California court alone has ruled that Tesla has been proven to have engaged in deceptive marketing related to the Full Self Driving or autopilot driver assistance system. Tesla's license to sell and produce vehicles in the state was suspended for 30 days.

Since 2016, Tesla has sold a level 2 driver assistance software called Full Self-Driving, although the system does not and still does not make vehicles capable of driving completely without human intervention.

The naming was considered to have caused public confusion, especially as Tesla repeatedly mentioned the target of full autonomy that has not been achieved. In addition to FSD, Tesla also uses the term Autopilot for other driving assistance features.