Footage of a crash involving a Tesla Model 3 has surfaced on YouTube, with the uploader claiming this is the first crash on the Wham Baam Teslacam channel that involves a Tesla running on FSD Beta.
Dennis Perez from Livermore, California, was driving his Tesla Model 3 around town with FSD Beta on. The video captured by the vehicle built-in dashcam starts with the car waiting at a red light to make a left turn.
When the light turned green, Autopilot paused from a moment before entering the intersection—that’s something it presumably does to reduce the risk of encountering red light runners. Even so, six seconds after the light turned green, the Tesla still got t-boned by a Honda Ridgeline pickup truck that had obviously run the red light.
Fortunately, Dennis escaped with nothing more than a sore body, despite the heavy impact that triggered the airbags; no one else got injured.
It’s clear that FSD Beta cannot be blamed for anything in this case, quite the contrary. If you watch the video closely, you’ll notice that Autopilot stopped the car just before the impact, with the Honda hitting the Model 3’s front left fender as a result.
Had the Tesla carried on driving, the truck probably would have hit Tesla’s driver-side door directly, likely causing more serious injuries to Dennis. This goes to show that FSD Beta is literally a life-saver.
The Model 3 owner showed the Teslacam footage of the crash to the Honda driver and police right at the scene of the accident. An insurance claim has been filed, with the guilty driver’s insurance assuming full responsibility. Unfortunately, the Tesla was deemed totaled, with Dennis planning to order a Model Y once the insurance provider pays out.
Besides the Tesla Model 3 crash, the video at the top of this page—episode 135 of the Teslacam Stories—includes 14 more car crashes involving or filmed by Tesla vehicles.
