Tesla owner claims first Full Self-Driving Beta crash in strange NTHSA complaint

In a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTHSA) complaint, a Tesla Model Y owner claims that he was involved in a crash while using the Full Self-Driving Beta, which would be the first reported FSD Beta accident.

Tesla has been operating its Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta for over a year now.

Last month, the automaker was boasting about the fact that it hadn’t had an accident in the program.

Although the program was limited to mostly employees and a few owners until recently, it was still impressive that there was no crash.

But with the beta expanding to more owners recently, it was inevitable that crashes would happen.

Now we might have the first crash involving a Tesla vehicle using Full Self-Driving Beta.

A Model Y owner in Brea, California, posted a complaint on NHTSA’s website claiming to be involved in an accident while using FSD Beta.

They wrote in the complaint:

The Vehicle was in FSD Beta mode and while taking a left turn the car went into the wrong lane and I was hit by another driver in the lane next to my lane. The car gave an alert 1/2 way through the turn so I tried to turn the wheel to avoid it from going into the wrong lane but the car by itself took control and forced itself into the incorrect lane creating an unsafe maneuver putting everyone involved at risk. Car is severely damaged on the driver side.

Neither Tesla nor NHTSA have commented on the report.

Electrek’s Take

There are a few things worth mentioning.

It’s not too difficult to fake an NHTSA complaint, so it’s not confirmed that the complaint is legitimate. However, I’m not saying that it’s false, either. It’s just something to keep in mind.

As for what’s being reported in the complaint, it’s strange that the driver claims to have taken control and the vehicle “forced” itself into the wrong lane.

Once the driver applies torque on the steering wheel, the FSD Beta deactivates.

Sometimes it can feel like there’s some resistance, but it’s never that significant that you feel like the system is fighting you for control, which almost sounds like what the driver is reporting here.

Again, I’m not saying that this person is lying, but it’s certainly a strange report.