Tesla Cybertruck autopilot failure causes crash into pole
A Tesla Cybertruck on autopilot v13.2.4 failed to merge out of an ending lane, struck a curb and crashed into a light pole. The owner walked away unharmed but reported that the vehicle made no attempt to slow down or steer until after hitting the curb.
What happened
A Tesla Cybertruck on v13.2.4 autopilot failed to merge out of an ending lane and did not attempt to slow down or turn until after striking a curb, then crashed into a light pole. The owner, Jonathan Challinger, posted on social media that "It failed to merge out of a lane that was ending (there was no one on my left) and made no attempt to slow down or turn until it had already hit the curb."
Reported impact
The Cybertruck sustained extensive damage from the crash. Challinger reported "I walked away without a scratch," stating the vehicle's passive safety features protected him from injury despite the autonomous system failure.
Index analysis
Challinger attributed the incident to the autopilot system's failure to respond appropriately to a merging scenario where the adjacent lane was ending. He acknowledged his own lack of attentiveness as a contributing factor, stating "Big fail on my part, obviously."
Governance controls
Challinger reached out to Tesla to ensure they received the incident data, including dashcam footage. He noted that the service center had been "less than responsive" to his attempt to share the data with the company.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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