Online observers reported a clash between Tesla’s autopilot feature and traffic rules in a case covered by Arstechnica. The report highlighted concerns raised by a social media user about how the electric car’s unmanned driving system responds to pedestrians.
A Twitter commenter using the alias WholeMarsBlog claimed that the Tesla system could ignore pedestrians in certain conditions. The same user shared a video illustrating a vehicle in autopilot mode that did not halt when a person stepped onto a crosswalk.
In the clip, a bystander noted that the driverless system appeared to see the pedestrian but did not brake in time. The incident took place in San Francisco, and the clip had amassed millions of views, illustrating heightened public interest in autopilot safety.
Analysts noted that most driver-assistance systems today are designed with limitations in urban environments. For example, GM’s Super Cruise and Ford’s BlueCruise typically operate on specific highways with divided lanes, not in busy city streets.
In a separate case, former California radiologist Dharmesh Patel faced charges related to an attempted homicide after an incident on a coastal highway near San Francisco known as Devil’s Slide. Investigators described a Tesla vehicle exiting the road toward a cliff while Patel was behind the wheel with his family aboard. Responders found a white Tesla about 75 meters from the edge. The occupants included a 41-year-old physician, his spouse, and two children—ages four and seven. All passengers survived; the four-year-old was unharmed, while the seven-year-old sustained serious injuries but later recovered enough to leave the hospital.