Musk: FSD Beta Has Had Zero Accidents Since Its Oct. 2020 Launch

While that's impressive if accurate, a lot of credit has to go to testers who are being extra careful while using it.

By: Dan Mihalascu

Jan 18, 2022 at 4:02am ET

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Over a year into the Full Self-Driving Beta program, Tesla CEO Elon Musk says there has not been a single crash or injury caused by cars running the technology.

In response to a tweet by Tesla shareholder Ross Gerber, Musk confirmed that there have been no accidents in the Full Self-Driving Beta program since its launch in October 2020.

If accurate, that’s impressive seeing as FSD Beta-enabled vehicles likely covered millions on miles since the program started. However, it does not mean that the self-driving software is flawless; a lot of credit is due to the testers who are being extra careful while using it.

Full Self-Driving Beta has been pushed to several thousands of customers since its initial rollout, with members of the fleet of testers being selected by Tesla through its safety test score.

FSD Beta enables the vehicle to drive autonomously to a destination entered in the navigation system, although the driver has to stay vigilant and ready to take control at all times.

We have seen many videos of Tesla cars almost causing a crash while running FSD Beta if it weren’t for drivers overriding the system to avoid a collision. On the other hand, we’ve also seen many videos where FSD Beta saved the day by detecting risks the human driver did not and acting accordingly.

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Elon Musk’s clam clashes with NHTSA’s stats which include a complaint filed by a Tesla Model Y owner enlisted in the FSD Beta program. The user claimed that the system caused a crash, although the complaint couldn’t be confirmed.

Tesla has been criticized for calling FSD a level two autonomous system in Beta testing, which ultimately means that the users are responsible in case something bad happens. The company has defended itself by saying that it has been careful with slowly rolling out the features to customers it deems “safer drivers.”