A 71-year-old man has been killed after being struck by a Tesla operating in Full Self-Driving mode while crossing a freeway in Vallejo, California.
The incident occurred at about 2:35 a.m. on Thursday on Interstate 80, according to the California Highway Patrol, ValidViewNetwork reports .
THE INCIDENT
The driver, a 26-year-old man from San Francisco, told authorities the vehicle was in Full Self-Driving (FSD) autonomous mode at the time of the crash.
CHP said its preliminary review of the Tesla’s dashcam footage showed the car traveling in the second lane at about 70 mph when the man walked into the freeway from the right shoulder.
The video captured the brakes being applied and the car veering left to attempt to swerve around the pedestrian.
“Despite these evasive actions, the right front portion of the Tesla struck the individual,” CHP said.
The man was then struck by at least one other vehicle while lying in the traffic lanes. No other drivers stopped, and CHP said it does not know their identities.
THE INVESTIGATION
The CHP office in Solano is actively investigating the crash and is encouraging witnesses to contact the office, ValidViewNetwork reports.
Despite its name, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system does not make a vehicle fully autonomous. It can steer, change lanes and navigate roads, but drivers must remain alert and ready to take control.
WHY IT MATTERS
The death is the latest in a series of incidents involving Tesla’s autonomous driving systems.
It raises questions about the safety of FSD technology, the responsibility of drivers who rely on it, and the regulatory framework governing autonomous vehicles on public roads.
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For the family of the deceased, the loss is devastating. For Tesla, it is another controversy. The promise of self-driving cars is a future without human error.
The reality is a technology that still requires human vigilance—and a man is dead because the line between the two was blurred.