Skip to main content

Tesla FSD Avoids Oncoming Truck By Driving Up On a Curb To the Right

Tesla's FSD was just shown in action - driving up on a curb to the right in order to avoid a truck that was coming too close to the Tesla driving.
Tesla FSD Avoids Oncoming Truck By Driving Up On a Curb To the Right

A Tesla With FSD 12.3.3 Drove On A Curb To Avoid a Collision With a Truck

A recent video on X, showed a Tesla FSD 12.3.3 "supervisor" driving on a side road in a neighborhood. As he was driving forward, a complex situation unfolded very quickly.

The car, driving forward in the right lane, was reaching a point where two cars were parked on the left side of the road, taking space. This happened at close to the same time as a truck driving on the other side of the road was coming toward him.

The Tesla was in the space where the parked vehicles on the left were, and the oncoming truck didn't have room to get through with both vehicles moving.

What did the Tesla do in this case? It simply moved to the right and drove up on a curb to avoid hitting the oncoming truck.

This situation was responded to by Ashok Elluswamy, an AI/Autopilot expert at Tesla, who said that the final version of this is the trolley problem.

The trolley problem represents a difficult choice that has to be made in a situation where harm is possible.

In the case of this Tesla driving on the curb, the Tesla was able to make the most of the situation and move to the right enough to avoid a collision.

However, it's also possible this situation would have been avoided, had either the Tesla or the truck slowed down and waited for the other car to pass through.

You May Also Like: How To Tell If You Are A Tesla Bull or a Tesla Bear

Responses To This Complex FSD Scenario of Driving

There were a variety of responses to this scenario that I liked from those on X, and I'll share a few of them now.

First, someone suggested that the Tesla honk the horn in this type of situation to alert the other car that there is the potential for a problem. This may cut down on potential accidents.

Another X user said that this was the "best poison to drink" in this situation, meaning that the car took the path of least damage and harm, even if it was something that a car normally should not do - driving on a curb.

Dave Mac said that if he had been 5 inches closer, there would have been a collision and that stopping wouldn't have really done anything. He thinks his Tesla made the best move possible - especially since the curb wasn't very tall.

He also thought the truck ahead was going to stop, since the Tesla was arriving to the spot where the cars on the left were parked, but the truck just kept moving forward.

Who has the right of way in this situation? Who would have been at fault had an accident happened here? This is an example of a complex situation that Tesla FSD needs to handle and in this case, it did!

Tesla vehicles and their rims and tires generally get what is called curb rash in a situation like this, where the curb makes contact with the wheel. It appears in this situation that Dave was able to drive up and on a curb without issue.

Dave trusted that his Tesla would make the right decision, and it did. You can clearly see from the picture I took from the video that there is not enough room for the Tesla to stay in its lane.

After driving on FSD 12.3.3 for me, after a couple of days, I'm learning to trust it and understand what it is going to do. You start to understand its way of driving and can predict what it is going to do.

For Further Reading: Just Like That, My Tesla Model 3 Is Driving Itself Everywhere (While I Supervise)

What do you think about the Tesla driving up on the curb here? Was that the right call to make?

Share this article with friends and family and on social media - or leave a comment below. You can view my most recent articles here for further reading. I am also on X/Twitter where I post more than just articles daily, as well as LinkedIn! Thank you so much for your support!

Hi! I'm Jeremy Noel Johnson, and I am a Tesla investor and supporter and own a 2022 Model 3 RWD EV and I don't have range anxiety :). I enjoy bringing you breaking Tesla news as well as anything about Tesla or other EV companies I can find, like Aptera. Other interests of mine are AI, Tesla Energy and the Tesla Bot! You can follow me on X.COM or LinkedIn to stay in touch and follow my Tesla and EV news coverage.

Image Credit/Reference: Dave Mac

Auto Sector Stocks
Automotive News
Electric Vehicle News and Reviews
Tesla