In a jaw-dropping demonstration, Tesla's Full Self-Driving mode showcased potential dangers that raise serious questions about the readiness of autonomous vehicles for public roads. Recent tests in Austin, Texas, involved a Tesla Model Y that blatantly ignored flashing school bus lights and stop signs, crashing into child-sized mannequins not once, but eight times!

This alarming experiment was conducted by The Dawn Project, alongside Tesla Takedown and ResistAustin, revealing alarming flaws in Tesla's autonomous technology. The incident has prompted heightened scrutiny over whether fully autonomous vehicles can be trusted to navigate our streets safely.

Interestingly, Tesla's Full Self-Driving feature—officially termed Full Self-Driving (Supervised)—is designed to necessitate a fully attentive driver, providing a series of increasingly urgent warnings for corrective action. A stern warning from Tesla states that failure to heed these guidelines could lead to dire consequences, including serious injury or even death.

This isn’t the first controversy surrounding Tesla’s FSD software. The Dawn Project, led by Dan O'Dowd, a competitor in automated driving systems, has previously campaigned against Tesla's Full Self-Driving capabilities, highlighting their failure to yield to school buses. This comes on the heels of a tragic incident in April 2024, where a Model S engaged in Full Self-Driving was involved in a serious crash that resulted in the death of a motorcyclist.

With the rollout of Tesla's fully autonomous Cybercab now on hold, these incidents prompt a critical reassessment of the safety and reliability of self-driving cars. As technology races ahead, the pressing question remains: Are we prepared for the implications?