Tesla FSD Steers Car Toward Lake in Low-Light Conditions
A Tesla owner and former SpaceX engineer reported that Tesla's Full Self-Driving system steered his car toward a boat ramp leading into a lake at night, accelerating toward the water until he intervened. The driver later confirmed the error did not occur during daytime, suggesting the malfunction was related to low-light visibility conditions.
What happened
On the night of February 16, 2026, Daniel Milligan, a Tesla owner and former SpaceX engineer, was driving with FSD version 14.2.2.4 when the system made a right turn onto a boat ramp leading toward a lake and accelerated toward the water at approximately 10 mph instead of slowing down.
Milligan intervened by taking manual control of the vehicle before it entered the lake. He had intended to drive to a driveway about fifty feet away from the boat ramp.
Reported impact
No collision or injury occurred, as Milligan took control of the vehicle in time. The driver stated the car was moving at a speed that suggested it would have entered the lake had he not intervened.
Index analysis
Milligan repeated the same route during daylight the following morning and reported that FSD did not turn onto the boat ramp, instead proceeding correctly to the intended driveway. He attributed the night-time malfunction to poor lighting conditions, hypothesizing the system either could not see the driveway ahead or could not clearly perceive the lake in low light.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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