Journalist Alarmed When His Tesla Running FSD Tries to Veer Off Highway and Plunge Into a Ditch

A Tesla equipped with Full Self-Driving (FSD) nearly veered off a highway and into a ditch, according to an editor-in-chief of an electric vehicle blog. Fred Lambert, the editor-in-chief of the electric vehicle blog Electrek, described the near-disaster in a blog post. He was driving on Autoroute 55 in Quebec's Mauricie region when the FSD almost made a critical mistake.

The car had been cruising at around 68 miles per hour in the right lane, and visibility was clear with no traffic around. The lane markers were also freshly painted, making for what Lambert described as "perfect conditions" for FSD. However, while passing an exit, the car suddenly activated its turn signal and began to veer towards the shoulder.

The issue was that the entrance to the ramp was already peeling off behind the vehicle, putting it in danger of plunging into a ditch. Lambert had to take control of the vehicle to prevent the accident. He expressed fear that the FSD software's error could have been disastrous, as he had to intervene despite feeling confident in the system's capabilities.

Lambert emphasized that Full Self-Driving doesn't fully drive itself and requires constant supervision, which is a point of contention with regulators due to potential false advertising. Despite this, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly claimed that Tesla's cars can drive themselves. FSD-enabled Teslas have been involved in numerous accidents, including one where it ran over an elderly woman.

However, when it works most of the time, it creates a dangerous situation, according to Lambert. He argued that a "system that works almost perfectly creates a trap - drivers trust it just enough to stop paying attention, but it still fails unpredictably and sometimes critically."