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Tesla Autopilot Confused by Partial Lane Exposed Vehicles

A recent Reddit post and video showing what could have been a terrible accident has raised concerns among some Tesla owners that Autopilot is confused when traffic conditions include a partial lane obstruction of a pulled-over stationary vehicle.
Autopilot fails to sense vehicle on roadside

Reddit Posts Attest to Autopilot Shortcomings

A recent post by Reddit member sheturnedmeintoaneut on the r/Teslamotors reddit site shows yet another reason why when using Autopilot---and possibly even Autopilot with FSD---it remains imperative that drivers need to remain aware of the road and their vehicle at all times when using safety features in Tesla and other EV’s equipped with assisted driving type features.

Tesla driver shuts off Autopilot when this happenedReddit post warns about Autopilot problemHere is copy of the video as posted on Reddit:

Tesla Owner Experience With Autopilot Needed

To help current Tesla owners and especially new Tesla owners, we would like to hear back from you in the comments sections below and tells us what obstacle experience or other problems you have had with Autopilot that could have resulted in a near-disaster such as that reported by the Reddit post.

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Timothy Boyer is Torque News Tesla and EV reporter based in Cincinnati. Experienced with early car restorations, he regularly restores older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites for daily Tesla and electric vehicle news.

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Comments

DeanMcManis (not verified)    June 4, 2021 - 1:45AM

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And in the few minutes that it took to read this article some random gas powered vehicle actually ran into some vehicle incorrectly sticking out into the road (no near-miss). And yet there were NO stories published about those commonplace accidents. How many drivers are regularly texting and otherwise distracted, who would have not seen, and hit the truck? Typical Reddit clickbait.

Timothy Boyer    June 4, 2021 - 9:10AM

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Hi, thanks for replying. There's no denying that text-related accidents in gas powered vehicles greatly outnumber Autopilot-involved EV accidents; however, as unfortunate as text-related accidents are---it's old news that has been hammered into the public consciousness ad nauseam. What is not old news that has not been hammered sufficiently enough into the public consciousness yet is that tech like Autopilot is still in its infancy and not perfected. Whether Reddit clickbait or not, the message remains true that for now, users of Autopilot need to remain vigilant while using it.