Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Tests: Hits Kid-Sized Dummies

A concerning demonstration showcasing Tesla’s Full Self-Driving mode has sparked significant debate about the readiness of fully autonomous vehicles to navigate public roads safely. Reports indicate that Tesla has postponed the launch of its innovative all-electric, fully autonomous vehicle known as the Cybercab. A recent test conducted in Austin, Texas highlighted alarming instances where a Tesla Model Y disregarded a school bus’s flashing lights and stop signs, ultimately colliding with child-sized mannequins. This testing was executed by The Dawn Project, in collaboration with Tesla Takedown and ResistAustin, revealing that Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software repeated the same critical error on eight separate occasions.

Importantly, Tesla markets its autonomous driving capabilities as Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which mandates the presence of a fully attentive driver and issues a series of escalating warnings that require a driver’s immediate response. A stark warning accompanies this feature, stating, “failure to follow these instructions could cause damage, serious injury or death.” This is not the first instance where Tesla’s FSD software has faced scrutiny; The Dawn Project—led by Dan O’Dowd, CEO of a firm offering rival automated driving system software—has previously run advertisements cautioning against the potential hazards of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system, particularly its failure to yield to school buses. In a tragic incident in April 2024, a Model S equipped with Full Self-Driving was involved in a fatal accident in Washington, resulting in the death of a motorcyclist.

As anticipation grows for the upcoming launch of the Cybercab on June 22, Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, provided additional insights on platform X. Musk conveyed that the company is “being super paranoid about safety,” indicating that the release date may be subject to change. Furthermore, he shared that the “first Tesla that drives itself from factory end of line all the way to a customer house is June 28,” underlining the company’s commitment to advancing its autonomous vehicle technology while prioritizing safety.