A recent supervised mode crash has brought up new worries about the readiness and safety of Tesla’s most advanced FSD. Before this year, a 2025 Tesla Model 3 in Toney, Alabama, unexpectedly drove off the road, flipped over, and injured its driver.
The new Tesla Model 3, leased by its owner, had FSD v13.2.8 and the newest Hardware 4 installed. He considered himself a fan, always used FSD, adjusted his settings with tips from YouTube, and depended on the feature for his daily drives.
“I used FSD every chance I could get,” Wally told Electrek. “I was happy it could drive me to Waffle House, and I could just sit back and relax while it would drive me on my morning commute to work.”
The Incident
Everything changed two months ago, when Wally was suddenly swerved off the road soon after an approaching car passed him, with FSD active during the commute. The car drove off the road, hit a tree as it went past, and turned over, landing on its roof.
“I didn’t have time to react,” Wally said. “The wheel started turning rapidly, and before I knew it, the car was off the road and upside down.”
Things went well for Wally, since his chin needed only seven stitches. Yet, what followed was very difficult. “I remember being upside down and noticing blood coming through the glass sunroof, not knowing where it was coming from,” he said. After unbuckling himself, he crawled to the middle of the vehicle. When the phone fell over, its crash detection alerted emergency services, and the neighbors arrived ahead of the fire crew to save him.
Tesla has always stated that, despite what the name implies, FSD is still classed as a driver assist system at Level 2. The driver always has to be ready to take over and focus on driving. Now, Tesla’s marketing adds the word “Supervised,” highlighting that humans must still supervise its features.
Is Tesla FSD Ready?
Despite Elon Musk’s claims that Tesla will drive you as you sleep by the end of this year. It makes you skeptical about such remarks when things like these happen frequently. There was an incident where a Cybertruck running FSD v13.2.4 missed a lane merge and crashed into a pole.
Many people have reported crashes linked to FSD, and some critics claim that Tesla gives drivers the wrong idea about the system’s capabilities. Usually, accidents with automated driving happen because the person is inattentive, but Wally was focused on driving and still did not have time to stop his car.
An editor at Electrek who has had something similar mentioned, “I understand operators must be vigilant, since FSD can make errors.” Sometimes, paying attention isn’t a guarantee that you’ll understand. It’s not just a problem—these are bugs that can threaten people’s lives.
Tesla has not made any public statements about the crash, and Wally is asking for access to the car’s driving data to learn more.
Tesla’s name for its driverless technology—Full Self-Driving—doesn’t reflect the actual way it works. In truth, while promoted as a futuristic autopilot, it depends on human reaction to avoid disaster, an event that sometimes cannot be avoided.
