FSD Saved a Life Last Night―Tesla Cybertruck Owner Shares a Story That Begs An Important Question for Anyone Using FSD

It is any driver's nightmare: accidentally running over or nearly running over a pedestrian in the dark. How many of us can attest to a near miss? It's a rhetorical question. It has happened to all of us. But what is not rhetorical is the trust question based on a recent Tesla Cybertruck Owners Club forum where the OP discusses a near-fatality that was prevented by his turning on FSD one dark night.

"Blinded by the Light, Saved by FSD" is the title of a remarkable pedestrian near-miss that initially looked like FSD was putting a Cybertruck driver and his wife in potential danger by responding unexpectedly to an oncoming car with blinding headlights.

Here is the story in the Cybertruck owner's words (please note, the owner of the CT refers to his vehicle as "Blitzen the Cyber Sleigh" to avoid any initial confusion.):

My hands are still shaking.

Early last night, my wife and I left a business meeting, finding ourselves on a dark, unmarked rural road. The night was absolute—pitch black, the kind of darkness that swallows everything. As I prepared to turn left onto the road, I engaged Blitzen's Full Self-Driving (FSD) and watched as a vehicle approached from the left, its high beams blinding me.

I squinted, struggling against the glare, trusting Blitzen to navigate. The Cyber Sleigh pulled out smoothly, turning toward the oncoming car—but instead of accelerating, it hesitated, easing onto the brakes.

I didn't understand why.

The other vehicle roared past, its bright beams fading. As Blitzen inched forward, it subtly shifted left. That's when I saw him.

A pedestrian.

Dressed entirely in black, walking directly in our lane. Right where we should have been.

"Smooth move", my wife commented. "I was about to warn you, but you saw him just fine."

I felt my breath catch.

"I didn't see him," I said.

In the soft glow of the cabin lights, we stared at each other. She hadn't realized we were in FSD.

I swallowed hard. "I would have run him over."

Silence filled the truck. The road hummed beneath us, undisturbed, as Blitzen carried on, unfazed by the moment it had just averted.

Without a word, my wife reached out, her fingers gliding over the dashboard in quiet gratitude.

FSD saved a life last night.

"In FSD We Trust"

This incident, fortunately, had a happy (if not unnerving) ending for anyone who has faced a similar near-miss accident in which, either by some stroke of fate or just dumb luck, they managed to avoid running over a pedestrian.

The question posed at the beginning of this story, "Would you always trust FSD when it looks like it is about to make a mistake in traffic?" is a legitimate question and one that warrants some introspection if you use FSD in your Tesla.

Introspection like this this one recently reported where one Tesla owner stated, “I Had a Scary FSD Experience in The Rain And Don't Know If My Tesla Would Have Crashed.”

The claim (from Tesla) has always been (and still is) that FSD is far safer than the average car driver, and as such, we can theoretically expect fewer traffic fatalities if everyone were to use FSD.

However, this is not yet proven to be satisfactorily true.

In fact, some studies point to the dangers of relying on FSD, including one that states "FSD is around 10 times less safe than human drivers" and another, oddly enough, related to this story, that FSD is especially unsafe when making turns during "…the low light of dusk and dawn, they (FSD crashes) were a shocking five times as likely."

More recently, however, new reports about Autopilot and FSD are eliciting more positive opinions: I Used To Question Tesla FSD's Safety, But After This Latest Report The Numbers Don't Lie.

But there is more to it than safety on the part of FSD: What the driver does when they are confused by an FSD response, as stated by the OP in the story.

What if the driver had, in a split second, decided to override or fight for control over FSD during those critical seconds?

In other words, what would you have done and why? Are you prepared for what you would or should do when FSD appears to be making a mistake?

We Want to Hear From You: Are you a Tesla owner using FSD? Have you faced a similar situation where you thought FSD was in error? If so, what did you do? Tell us about it in the comments section below.

Timothy Boyer is an automotive reporter based in Cincinnati who currently researches and works on restoring older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. He also reports on modern cars (including EVs) with a focus on DIY mechanics, buying and using tools, and other related topical automotive repair news. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites as well as on Facebook and his automotive blog "Zen and the Art of DIY Car Repair" for useful daily news and topics related to new and used cars and trucks.

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