Tesla “Full Self Driving” Drives Through Small Deer — Doesn’t Stop

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Well, this isn’t a fun one. A Tesla owner using Full Self Driving (FSD) at night on a highway ended up driving straight through a young deer — without a pause, a swerve, or anything. If that was the full story, that would already be something noteworthy. However, that’s not quite the end.

A billionaire who is adamantly critical of Tesla Full Self Driving (FSD) and convinced it’s not safe, Dan O’Dowd, has spent millions of dollars in the past few years trying to get FSD off the road. It’s not been money well spent so far, as FSD is in use more and more every week. Nonetheless, he keeps trooping on. One thing he has shown previously is that putting a small object the size of a kid in front of a Tesla using FSD can lead to the car driving over the object — when placed at the right angle or position and brought into the path of the car. Well, he caught word of this story before I did and he posted the following statement, saying that this reinforces his claim that a Tesla on FSD could run over a kid.

To all the people who say that our tests are faked and that @Tesla Full Self-Driving won’t run over a small child, here is FSD running over and killing a deer.

The deer is the same size as a small child. FSD didn’t brake and didn’t stop after the collision.

Hit and run. https://t.co/2ZxWW9tAVV

— Dan O’Dowd (@RealDanODowd) October 28, 2024

“The deer is the same size as a small child. FSD didn’t brake and didn’t stop after the collision. Hit and run.” Indeed — it did not.

Hit the deer with my Tesla.

FSD didn’t stopped, even after hitting the deer on full speed. Huge surprise after getting a dozen of false stops every day!

Experiencing worst side of Tesla service now. Can’t even get an estimate for insurance. Nearest appointments only in January. pic.twitter.com/7PMiROmk5x

— Paul S (@TheSeekerOf42) October 28, 2024

This second post is from the same person who published the video higher up. They reiterate that “FSD didn’t stopped, even after hitting the deer on full speed. Huge surprise after getting a dozen of false stops every day!”

However, arguably the bigger issue for him is that Tesla Service is not helping out much. “Can’t even get an estimate for insurance. Nearest appointments only in January.” Yikes! He has to wait until January for an appointment to estimate cost of damage for the insurance company? That’s wild.

Does this demonstrate that FSD shouldn’t be used on public roads? I’m not sure about that, but it does show that you’ve got to be extra vigilant with it and not assume that it’s going to perfectly avoid cases like this one … or worse.