Data scientists have been writing me to say there’s something notable in the Tesla crash reporting that has to do with poles. Presumably it’s because I’ve published warnings like this one:
Tesla in Deadly Pole Position: FSD Kills More People
Or this one:
Tesla in 2024 Still Crash Into Poles Like It’s 2018
One big clue for everyone surely was when Waymo publicly discussed software updates required to reduce the likelihood of robotic vehicles incorrectly assigning a “low hazard score” for poles before running into them.
This reminded me of when Tesla abruptly split with NVidia, who then publicly ranked Tesla as the industry worst in driverless hardware and software engineering. Or earlier, when Mobileye and Tesla abruptly split ways after Tesla management decisions were judged to be unsafe. Those two companies are the known best at what they do, giants leading the autonomous transportation market, and somehow their stark safety warnings about Tesla never saw an appropriate market reaction.
Proof of NVidia and Mobileye being right — warning how Tesla lacked the moral fiber required to be good at engineering — may be simply that we still have never seen any Waymo-like mea culpa for “veered” crashes into poles and trees.
Tesla managing to achieve low-quality electric car parts assembly, yet little else, continues to generate a shocking frequency of reports like this one today:
Two people had to be rescued from the inside of a burning Tesla in Sherman Oaks on Wednesday evening, according to firefighters. The crash happened at around 8:30 p.m. in the 14600 block of Moorpark Street, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Crews arrived to find the car engulfed in flames after it slammed into a tree on the side of the road.
