A former Tesla employee has shared a frightening video online that shows a Tesla model equipped with the company’s Full Self-Driving beta running a red light in the U.S.
John Bernal once worked as an advanced driver assistance systems test operator for Tesla but was fired last year after sharing videos on YouTube of the FSD Beta misbehaving in California. While he no longer works for Tesla, Bernal continues to drive his Model 3 and while experimenting with the FSD system at night, uncovered a scary error that he says could be repeated multiple times.
Watch: Tesla Fires Employee Who Posted YouTube Video Of Minor Collision On FSD Beta
In the short video shared to Twitter, Bernal starts by saying that the car just ran the red light before he started filming so he heads back to the same intersection to see if he can replicate the problem. As he approaches the intersection – this time with his phone in his hand to film – the Model 3 approaches the intersection to merge onto a highway. The system appears to briefly brake right as it runs the red light but it then proceeds through the intersection and starts to gather speed again once crossing into the highway.
In a follow-up tweet, Bernal says he was contacted by the Department of Justice after posting the video online. As a reminder, the DOJ has been investigating Tesla’s self-driving system since last year and could be looking to charge executives and/or Tesla itself.
By looking at the car’s infotainment screen, we can see that it recognized the red light as well as the two green lights used to signal traffic already traveling on the highway. A warning message is also visible on the screen that reads ‘Full Self-Driving may be degraded.’ This appears to be quite a common problem with Tesla models equipped with the FSD Beta and can be triggered by poor weather or if dirt is on one of the camera lenses. Bernal says he cleaned the cameras and that the message disappeared but he claims it still ran the red light on a subsequent test.
