Video Shows Tesla Hitting Deer While in Self-Driving Mode. Here's What We Know
The California owner of a Tesla Model 3 said a dash camera video showed his vehicle hitting a deer. According to the driver, the electric car's self-driving feature did not detect the deer and therefore did not initiate automatic emergency braking.
X user Paul S. (@TheSeekerOf42) said (archived) on Oct. 27, 2024 — referencing Tesla's self-driving feature "Full Self-Driving (Supervised)" or "FSD": "Hit the deer with my Tesla. FSD didn't [stop], even after hitting the deer on full speed. Huge surprise after getting a dozen of false stops every day!"
The post featured a photo showing some damage on the vehicle's front end.
The user also posted (archived) a brief dash camera video showing the deer not appearing visible until around one second before impact. He wrote: "Video is cut right before sensitive things appear on screen. Safe to watch."
Video is cut right before sensitive things appear on screen. Safe to watch. pic.twitter.com/FaXD6Gr68S
— Paul S (@TheSeekerOf42) October 28, 2024
Paul S. later said (archived) he believed the deer likely died "upon impact." He also said (archived) he received an unofficial estimate for repairs for at least $10,000 but was awaiting an official number.
Tesla's 'Full Self-Driving (Supervised)' Feature
The Tesla website documented that its "Autopilot" and Full Self-Driving (Supervised) features are "intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment." The documentation specified: "While these features are designed to become more capable over time, the currently enabled features do not make the vehicle autonomous."
The website also said Tesla designed its automatic emergency braking to detect "cars or obstacles that the vehicle may impact," so that brakes can be applied accordingly.
We contacted Tesla by email to ask for comment about this matter but the company had not replied by the time of publication. We will update this article if we receive a response.
Driver Called Deer Incident 'Perfect Storm'
In direct messages on X, @TheSeekerOf42 said he did not sustain any visible injuries but that "the impact was felt" and the "car lost a decent amount of speed momentarily."
He called the collision a "perfect storm," listing off five points he believed factored into the incident:
1. Night gave low vision.
2. The car in front made auto high beam go to low beam (to not blind other drivers).
3. The road went to upwards curve, lowering visibility range even more.
4. The deer stood still and positioned back to the car, lowering its own "image width."
5. The road was patchy, with visible old markings and skid marks, effectively seeing as a camouflage.
Regarding the release of a longer video, @TheSeekerOf42 said he was hesitant to do so.
"It looks like a lot of anti-Tesla / anti-FSD people [are] making too big deal out of this particular edge case, where even a decent human driver [wouldn't have] had a chance to spot the poor creature before the impact."
Paul S. continued: "FSD works really good. I'm driving with it every day, and made more than 20,000 miles with FSD. And the vehicles themselves are an engineering marvel." He also told us he believed "the car held up extremely well," and said: "I'll definitely never drive anything else. Only Teslas."
He later replied (archived) to another user: "We probably just need to teach FSD what a deer's butt looks like."
Sources:
"Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (Supervised)." Tesla.com, https://www.tesla.com/support/autopilot.
Tesla (2023). Model 3 Owner's Manual | Tesla. Tesla. [online] doi:https://doi.org/GUID-2CB60804-9CEA-4F4B-8B04-09B991368DC5.
