Tesla's FSD runs over child mannequin
Don't miss out on the headlines from On the Road. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Two Tesla foes have joined forces to attack Elon and his automotive semi-autonomous driving technology.
The Dawn Project and the Tesla Takedown movement have partnered to highlight what they claim are 'critical safety defects' in Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software.
In a recent test conducted in the United States (US), a Tesla Model Y equipped with the latest version of Full Self-Driving (version 13.2.9) was presented with a common scenario: a school bus stopped on the side of the road with its flashing lights and stop signs activated. A child-sized mannequin was then pulled across the street, simulating a child attempting to catch the bus.
Anti-Tesla activists testing FSD system. (Picture: The Dawn Project)
Anti-Tesla activists testing FSD system. (Picture: The Dawn Project)
MORE: Inside China's total domination of Australia
The Tesla, travelling at an average speed of approximately 32 km/h, failed to stop at the bus stop sign and proceeded to strike the mannequin in each of the eight test runs. The system also reportedly failed to alert the driver to the collision.
The tests come as Tesla prepares to launch robotaxis in the US, fully autonomous vehicles designed for taxi services.
While Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stated that the company is 'being super paranoid about safety' regarding its forthcoming robotaxi launch, organisers like The Dawn Project and Tesla Takedown aren't convinced.
Tesla runs passed stop sign. (Picture: The Dawn Project)
MORE: Crisis sends Australian fuel prices soaring
The Dawn Project said, 'Full Self-Driving ran down the child mannequin while illegally blowing past the school bus on every single attempt.'
'Tesla's Full Self-Driving software did not disengage or even alert the driver to the fact there had been a collision on any of the test runs,' they added.
However, it's important to note that the Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is not fully autonomous but rather semi-autonomous.
Tesla states explicitly that the system is designed for 'use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment.'
Autonomous driving is a key pillar of investment for Tesla. Having introduced its 'Autopilot' driver assistance system more than a decade ago, Tesla doubled down on 'full self-driving' in the US.
Anti-Tesla activists testing FSD system. (Picture: The Dawn Project)
MORE: Magic mushies, booze kill off 'soft' utes
Recently, Tesla was faced with a significant challenge after Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Build Your Dreams (BYD) unveiled its new driver-assistance system, 'God's Eye.'
This innovative technology, which BYD has installed for free in some of its models, enables cars to drive themselves on highways and in urban environments.
Some experts argue that 'God's Eye' is more advanced than Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, which costs nearly US $9,000 ($13,800) in China.
Tesla's Full Self-Driving capability in Australia is currently being tested and is not yet fully legal for public use.
However, the system could be arriving soon.
Earlier this year, the EV giant published a video on X.com of a Tesla Model 3 with prototype software successfully negotiating busy streets in inner-city Melbourne.
2025 Tesla Model Y. Picture: Mark Bean
The brand's country director for Australia, Thom Drew, says an expansion of Tesla's driverless features is high on Elon Musk's list of priorities.
'That's Elon's push,' Drew said.
'We have a global engineering team that are working across markets around a lot of FSD… actively working across all our markets to roll it out.'
Critics are watching closely as Tesla's Autopilot and FSD systems remain under investigation following a series of crashes and fatalities.
Originally published as Tesla's Full Self-Driving system fails in 'safety test'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
How are online tools being used to track and resist fascism across the globe?
What are the online tools that fueled 'No Kings' and the Trump Resistance? From Signal to Reddit, people across the world are using tech tools to plan, analyse, and carry out political activism. We explore what those tools look like and how effective they are in preventing a bleak political future, including an explainer on the website 'Realtime Fascism' that uses AI to track fascism online. Also, Tesla's have been causing drama -- from phantom braking to a rise in Robotaxi issues. Will this stall the progress of automated vehicles in Australia? Plus, AI overviews have transformed the way we search for things online. What does this mean for old-school search engines and the sources we can trust? Plus why and how have 40,000 Cameras, from bird feeders to baby monitors, been exposed to the internet? GUESTS: Petra Stock, environment and science reporter for the Guardian Australia environment and science reporter for the Guardian Australia Charles Gretton, Director of Attention and Innovation, Integrated AI Network, and Associate Professor at ANU This episode of Download This Show was made on Gadigal land and in Naarm and on Ngunnawal country. Technical production by Allyse Simons.
7NEWS
2 days ago
- 7NEWS
World's largest EV maker BYD slows production
BYD has reportedly reduced production at its Chinese factories after significant price cuts have seen slower growth than planned in the company's home market. According to Automotive News, BYD – which overtook Tesla to become the world's largest electric vehicle (EV) maker in 2024 – has made the unprecedented move of cancelling night shifts at some of its plants. The report suggests the automaker has reduced capacity by as much as one third at some of its plants, suspending plans for new product assembly lines as part of the move. One source told Automotive News BYD has missed targets to grow sales from the 4.27 million it sold globally in 2024 – including 20,458 in Australia – to 5.5 million in 2025. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. By the end of May 2025 BYD had sold 1.76 million cars globally, the rate working out to be 4.23 million for the full calendar year. BYD would not confirm the slowdown or comment when approached by Automotive News. Making BYD's performance less obvious has been a dramatic global sales slide for Tesla including falls in Europe, China and Australia, with the Toyota RAV4 knocking off the Tesla Model Y as the world's best-selling vehicle. In the first three months of 2025, Tesla production fell to 362,615 units compared to 433,371 over the same period the previous year, with revenue falling 66 per cent. Yet China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) production figures for BYD revealed growth of only 0.2 per cent in May 2025, the lowest growth figures since February 2024, which had fewer production days as the month was disrupted by national holidays. Data from the China Automotive Dealer Association (CADA) showed BYD held 3.21 months' worth of stock at its China dealers compared to the 1.38 industry average, again confirming slower than expected sales. The automaker exclusively builds electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles (EVs and PHEVs), having ended production of pure combustion-powered vehicles in 2022. In a move seen previously in the automotive industry in the United States and Australia, the China Auto Dealers Chamber of Commerce has called for car manufacturers to stop loading up dealers with excess stock. The news also comes as Chinese automakers have been accused of recording sales of new cars in China to obtain new-car financial subsidies, but then shipping those cars overseas as 'used', inflating Chinese sales figures and sales growth. According to Reuters, the issue came to light when Great Wall Motor (GWM) chairman Wei Jianjun was critical of the practice – known as selling 'zero mileage cars' – in May. The practice has also put downward pressure on new vehicle prices, sparking a price war to reduce the margin on each vehicle, ironically making sales of zero-mileage cars more enticing. The BYD Seagull – a city-sized EV hatch which could also get a start in Australian showrooms – was overtaken in May 2025 by the Geely Geome Xingyuan, offered with both EV and hybrid versions, as China's best-selling vehicle. After launching here exclusively with EVs, BYD introduced its first PHEVs to the Australian market last year. BYD will take over the local distribution from EVDirect on July 1, 2025, with ex-Honda Australia director Stephen Collins announced as chief operating officer earlier this month. The company's Australian sales are up 94.7 per cent to the end of May 2025, led by the Ford Ranger -rivalling Shark 6 pickup with a raft of new models – including the Atto 2 small SUV and the Sealion 8 seven-seat plug-in hybrid SUV – confirmed for local showrooms.
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
World's largest EV maker BYD slows production
BYD has reportedly reduced production at its Chinese factories after significant price cuts have seen slower growth than planned in the company's home market. According to Automotive News, BYD – which overtook Tesla to become the world's largest electric vehicle (EV) maker in 2024 – has made the unprecedented move of cancelling night shifts at some of its plants. The report suggests the automaker has reduced capacity by as much as one third at some of its plants, suspending plans for new product assembly lines as part of the move. One source told Automotive News BYD has missed targets to grow sales from the 4.27 million it sold globally in 2024 – including 20,458 in Australia – to 5.5 million in 2025. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. By the end of May 2025 BYD had sold 1.76 million cars globally, the rate working out to be 4.23 million for the full calendar year. BYD would not confirm the slowdown or comment when approached by Automotive News. Making BYD's performance less obvious has been a dramatic global sales slide for Tesla including falls in Europe, China and Australia, with the Toyota RAV4 knocking off the Tesla Model Y as the world's best-selling vehicle. In the first three months of 2025, Tesla production fell to 362,615 units compared to 433,371 over the same period the previous year, with revenue falling 66 per cent. Yet China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) production figures for BYD revealed growth of only 0.2 per cent in May 2025, the lowest growth figures since February 2024, which had fewer production days as the month was disrupted by national holidays. Data from the China Automotive Dealer Association (CADA) showed BYD held 3.21 months' worth of stock at its China dealers compared to the 1.38 industry average, again confirming slower than expected sales. The automaker exclusively builds electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles (EVs and PHEVs), having ended production of pure combustion-powered vehicles in 2022. In a move seen previously in the automotive industry in the United States and Australia, the China Auto Dealers Chamber of Commerce has called for car manufacturers to stop loading up dealers with excess stock. The news also comes as Chinese automakers have been accused of recording sales of new cars in China to obtain new-car financial subsidies, but then shipping those cars overseas as 'used', inflating Chinese sales figures and sales growth. According to Reuters, the issue came to light when Great Wall Motor (GWM) chairman Wei Jianjun was critical of the practice – known as selling 'zero mileage cars' – in May. The practice has also put downward pressure on new vehicle prices, sparking a price war to reduce the margin on each vehicle, ironically making sales of zero-mileage cars more enticing. The BYD Seagull – a city-sized EV hatch which could also get a start in Australian showrooms – was overtaken in May 2025 by the Geely Geome Xingyuan, offered with both EV and hybrid versions, as China's best-selling vehicle. After launching here exclusively with EVs, BYD introduced its first PHEVs to the Australian market last year. BYD will take over the local distribution from EVDirect on July 1, 2025, with ex-Honda Australia director Stephen Collins announced as chief operating officer earlier this month. The company's Australian sales are up 94.7 per cent to the end of May 2025, led by the Ford Ranger-rivalling Shark 6 pickup with a raft of new models – including the Atto 2 small SUV and the Sealion 8 seven-seat plug-in hybrid SUV – confirmed for local showrooms. MORE: Everything BYD Content originally sourced from: BYD has reportedly reduced production at its Chinese factories after significant price cuts have seen slower growth than planned in the company's home market. According to Automotive News, BYD – which overtook Tesla to become the world's largest electric vehicle (EV) maker in 2024 – has made the unprecedented move of cancelling night shifts at some of its plants. The report suggests the automaker has reduced capacity by as much as one third at some of its plants, suspending plans for new product assembly lines as part of the move. One source told Automotive News BYD has missed targets to grow sales from the 4.27 million it sold globally in 2024 – including 20,458 in Australia – to 5.5 million in 2025. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. By the end of May 2025 BYD had sold 1.76 million cars globally, the rate working out to be 4.23 million for the full calendar year. BYD would not confirm the slowdown or comment when approached by Automotive News. Making BYD's performance less obvious has been a dramatic global sales slide for Tesla including falls in Europe, China and Australia, with the Toyota RAV4 knocking off the Tesla Model Y as the world's best-selling vehicle. In the first three months of 2025, Tesla production fell to 362,615 units compared to 433,371 over the same period the previous year, with revenue falling 66 per cent. Yet China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) production figures for BYD revealed growth of only 0.2 per cent in May 2025, the lowest growth figures since February 2024, which had fewer production days as the month was disrupted by national holidays. Data from the China Automotive Dealer Association (CADA) showed BYD held 3.21 months' worth of stock at its China dealers compared to the 1.38 industry average, again confirming slower than expected sales. The automaker exclusively builds electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles (EVs and PHEVs), having ended production of pure combustion-powered vehicles in 2022. In a move seen previously in the automotive industry in the United States and Australia, the China Auto Dealers Chamber of Commerce has called for car manufacturers to stop loading up dealers with excess stock. The news also comes as Chinese automakers have been accused of recording sales of new cars in China to obtain new-car financial subsidies, but then shipping those cars overseas as 'used', inflating Chinese sales figures and sales growth. According to Reuters, the issue came to light when Great Wall Motor (GWM) chairman Wei Jianjun was critical of the practice – known as selling 'zero mileage cars' – in May. The practice has also put downward pressure on new vehicle prices, sparking a price war to reduce the margin on each vehicle, ironically making sales of zero-mileage cars more enticing. The BYD Seagull – a city-sized EV hatch which could also get a start in Australian showrooms – was overtaken in May 2025 by the Geely Geome Xingyuan, offered with both EV and hybrid versions, as China's best-selling vehicle. After launching here exclusively with EVs, BYD introduced its first PHEVs to the Australian market last year. BYD will take over the local distribution from EVDirect on July 1, 2025, with ex-Honda Australia director Stephen Collins announced as chief operating officer earlier this month. The company's Australian sales are up 94.7 per cent to the end of May 2025, led by the Ford Ranger-rivalling Shark 6 pickup with a raft of new models – including the Atto 2 small SUV and the Sealion 8 seven-seat plug-in hybrid SUV – confirmed for local showrooms. MORE: Everything BYD Content originally sourced from: BYD has reportedly reduced production at its Chinese factories after significant price cuts have seen slower growth than planned in the company's home market. According to Automotive News, BYD – which overtook Tesla to become the world's largest electric vehicle (EV) maker in 2024 – has made the unprecedented move of cancelling night shifts at some of its plants. The report suggests the automaker has reduced capacity by as much as one third at some of its plants, suspending plans for new product assembly lines as part of the move. One source told Automotive News BYD has missed targets to grow sales from the 4.27 million it sold globally in 2024 – including 20,458 in Australia – to 5.5 million in 2025. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. By the end of May 2025 BYD had sold 1.76 million cars globally, the rate working out to be 4.23 million for the full calendar year. BYD would not confirm the slowdown or comment when approached by Automotive News. Making BYD's performance less obvious has been a dramatic global sales slide for Tesla including falls in Europe, China and Australia, with the Toyota RAV4 knocking off the Tesla Model Y as the world's best-selling vehicle. In the first three months of 2025, Tesla production fell to 362,615 units compared to 433,371 over the same period the previous year, with revenue falling 66 per cent. Yet China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) production figures for BYD revealed growth of only 0.2 per cent in May 2025, the lowest growth figures since February 2024, which had fewer production days as the month was disrupted by national holidays. Data from the China Automotive Dealer Association (CADA) showed BYD held 3.21 months' worth of stock at its China dealers compared to the 1.38 industry average, again confirming slower than expected sales. The automaker exclusively builds electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles (EVs and PHEVs), having ended production of pure combustion-powered vehicles in 2022. In a move seen previously in the automotive industry in the United States and Australia, the China Auto Dealers Chamber of Commerce has called for car manufacturers to stop loading up dealers with excess stock. The news also comes as Chinese automakers have been accused of recording sales of new cars in China to obtain new-car financial subsidies, but then shipping those cars overseas as 'used', inflating Chinese sales figures and sales growth. According to Reuters, the issue came to light when Great Wall Motor (GWM) chairman Wei Jianjun was critical of the practice – known as selling 'zero mileage cars' – in May. The practice has also put downward pressure on new vehicle prices, sparking a price war to reduce the margin on each vehicle, ironically making sales of zero-mileage cars more enticing. The BYD Seagull – a city-sized EV hatch which could also get a start in Australian showrooms – was overtaken in May 2025 by the Geely Geome Xingyuan, offered with both EV and hybrid versions, as China's best-selling vehicle. After launching here exclusively with EVs, BYD introduced its first PHEVs to the Australian market last year. BYD will take over the local distribution from EVDirect on July 1, 2025, with ex-Honda Australia director Stephen Collins announced as chief operating officer earlier this month. The company's Australian sales are up 94.7 per cent to the end of May 2025, led by the Ford Ranger-rivalling Shark 6 pickup with a raft of new models – including the Atto 2 small SUV and the Sealion 8 seven-seat plug-in hybrid SUV – confirmed for local showrooms. MORE: Everything BYD Content originally sourced from: BYD has reportedly reduced production at its Chinese factories after significant price cuts have seen slower growth than planned in the company's home market. According to Automotive News, BYD – which overtook Tesla to become the world's largest electric vehicle (EV) maker in 2024 – has made the unprecedented move of cancelling night shifts at some of its plants. The report suggests the automaker has reduced capacity by as much as one third at some of its plants, suspending plans for new product assembly lines as part of the move. One source told Automotive News BYD has missed targets to grow sales from the 4.27 million it sold globally in 2024 – including 20,458 in Australia – to 5.5 million in 2025. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. By the end of May 2025 BYD had sold 1.76 million cars globally, the rate working out to be 4.23 million for the full calendar year. BYD would not confirm the slowdown or comment when approached by Automotive News. Making BYD's performance less obvious has been a dramatic global sales slide for Tesla including falls in Europe, China and Australia, with the Toyota RAV4 knocking off the Tesla Model Y as the world's best-selling vehicle. In the first three months of 2025, Tesla production fell to 362,615 units compared to 433,371 over the same period the previous year, with revenue falling 66 per cent. Yet China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) production figures for BYD revealed growth of only 0.2 per cent in May 2025, the lowest growth figures since February 2024, which had fewer production days as the month was disrupted by national holidays. Data from the China Automotive Dealer Association (CADA) showed BYD held 3.21 months' worth of stock at its China dealers compared to the 1.38 industry average, again confirming slower than expected sales. The automaker exclusively builds electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles (EVs and PHEVs), having ended production of pure combustion-powered vehicles in 2022. In a move seen previously in the automotive industry in the United States and Australia, the China Auto Dealers Chamber of Commerce has called for car manufacturers to stop loading up dealers with excess stock. The news also comes as Chinese automakers have been accused of recording sales of new cars in China to obtain new-car financial subsidies, but then shipping those cars overseas as 'used', inflating Chinese sales figures and sales growth. According to Reuters, the issue came to light when Great Wall Motor (GWM) chairman Wei Jianjun was critical of the practice – known as selling 'zero mileage cars' – in May. The practice has also put downward pressure on new vehicle prices, sparking a price war to reduce the margin on each vehicle, ironically making sales of zero-mileage cars more enticing. The BYD Seagull – a city-sized EV hatch which could also get a start in Australian showrooms – was overtaken in May 2025 by the Geely Geome Xingyuan, offered with both EV and hybrid versions, as China's best-selling vehicle. After launching here exclusively with EVs, BYD introduced its first PHEVs to the Australian market last year. BYD will take over the local distribution from EVDirect on July 1, 2025, with ex-Honda Australia director Stephen Collins announced as chief operating officer earlier this month. The company's Australian sales are up 94.7 per cent to the end of May 2025, led by the Ford Ranger-rivalling Shark 6 pickup with a raft of new models – including the Atto 2 small SUV and the Sealion 8 seven-seat plug-in hybrid SUV – confirmed for local showrooms. MORE: Everything BYD Content originally sourced from:
