The complaint logged with the NHTSA could become evidence in an ongoing investigation
February 4, 2025 at 16:34
- A Cybertruck owner says that they’re at a loss after FSD caused a crash on the freeway.
- The driver alleges FSD suddenly accelerated and sent the truck into a guardrail.
- They claim Tesla isn’t responding so the owner opened up a complaint with the NHTSA.
Tesla owners across the USA have access to Full Self-Driving (FSD), an imperfect semi-autonomous program. Some owners champion it as the bleeding edge of self-driving tech. Others, like the Cybertruck owner at the heart of this story, believe it’s incredibly dangerous. They go as far as to claim that it nearly cost them their life.
More: Teslas Are Now Driving From Production Line To Loading Docks Unsupervised
In a complaint filed with the NHTSA, the owner says that his truck “suddenly accelerated, got out of control and crashed into the railing,” while using FSD. They were then able to get control of the truck and guide it to a safe place to stop. “We nearly got killed. Please help.” is how they sign off of their complaint. Thankfully, they also report zero injuries as a result of the crash.
That said, the owner does state that there is significant damage to the truck. In fact, despite that, he claimed that “Tesla is not responding to my complaint.” That sounds like adding insult to injury. It’s worth noting that in the same way that anyone on the internet can write whatever they want, just about anyone can submit a report like this to the NHTSA.
While the agency requires a real VIN number for a report, a person could submit completely fictitious information beyond that. There’s no reason to immediately believe that this NHTSA claim is false, but it’s noteworthy that this report appears to be the only place the owner spoke about it online.
Despite searches across other NHTSA complaints, on various forums, and groups, we cannot find another example of alleged unintended acceleration in the Cybertruck. Regardless, the NHTSA will no doubt take interest in it as it works through an ongoing investigation into Tesla’s FSD technology. It kicked off late last year after several incidents including one fatal accident involving the Full Self-Driving System.
For reference, here is the entire, unedited complaint lodged with the NHTSA:
“WHILE DRIVING MY CYBERTRUCK ON FREEWAY USING TESLA’S FSD (FULL SELF DRIVING). VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED, GOT OUT OF CONTROL AND CRASHED IN TO THE RAILING. LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO CONTROL AFTER THE CRASH AND DROVE IT SAFE LOCATION. TRUCK IS SEVERELY DAMAGED AND TESLA IS NOT RESPONDING TO MY COMPLAINT. WE NEARLY GOT KILLED. PLEASE HELP.”
