The owner of a Tesla Model 3 says he plans to sue Mono City in California and Tesla after he crashed his EV into floodwaters on the side of the road while the car’s Full Self-Driving Beta was in operation.
The owner, Ryan, shared dashcam footage of the incident with the Wham Baam Teslacam channel on YouTube. In the clip, the car can be seen cruising at 60 mph when Ryan passes a Flooded sign on the side of the highway. Evidently, Ryan wasn’t paying attention and failed to see the huge puddle of water covering the road ahead of him. Tesla’s Full-Self Driving system also failed to notice the hazard.
We can see the Tesla hitting the water without braking. The car’s systems quickly lose control and send the Model 3 spearing off to the left and into a deep pond on the side of the road.
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While the full extent of the damage done to the Tesla isn’t known, the water enveloped roughly half of the car and the force of the impact with the water also partly detached the front bumper. The owner says he expects the EV to be deemed a total loss and that he plans to sue the city and Tesla for the incident. If he does, things probably won’t go his way.
As plenty of people commenting on the video have noted, those who agree to use the Full Self-Driving Beta acknowledge that they must remain alert at all times and keep their hands on the wheel. They also agree to be prepared to take action at any time and clearly, Ryan wasn’t ready to take action. If he does continue to pursue the matter, he’ll probably be laughed out of court and if Tesla itself sees the video, there’s a good chance it will revoke his access to the FSD beta.