Associated Incidents
In a post that has gone viral, Jonathan Challinger said his Tesla Cybertruck in self-driving mode crashed into a pole across from Stead Elementary School in Reno.
On Feb. 9, Challinger, who says he is a drone software developer from Florida, posted on X about the crash and included a photo of his Cybertruck wrapped around a pole with the front right tire dangling.
The post, which was either deleted or made private Thursday afternoon, had 10 million views as of Thursday morning and had been covered by Fortune Magazine.
In the post, Challinger wrote, "Thank you Tesla for engineering the best passive safety in the world. I walked away without a scratch. It failed to merge out of a lane that was ending (there was no one on my left) and made no attempt to slow down or turn until it had already hit the curb. Big fail on my part, obviously. Don't make the same mistake I did. Pay attention. It can happen. I follow Tesla and FSD (full self driving) pretty closely and haven't heard of any accident on V13 at all before this happened. It is easy to get complacent now -- don't."
V13 is the latest update on the Cybertruck's self-driving software.
Cybertruck driver not cited by police after crash
According to the Reno Police Department, the accident occurred at 8:45 p.m. Feb. 6 on Stead Boulevard at Silver Lake Road. Police received a call of a single-vehicle crash.
Challinger was not cited at the scene. The Reno Police Department said there were no factors listed as to the cause.
Reno police spokesman Chris Johnson said Challinger did not tell officers that the Cybertruck was in self-driving mode.
More:Graffiti and middle fingers: Tesla Cybertrucks have become a political statement
"While individuals may utilize self-driving modes or similar autonomous functions in their vehicles, it is important to note that, even with 'self-driving' cars and other automated modes, the driver remains responsible for the vehicle's actions during these modes," Johnson told the RGJ.
After hearing from the RGJ about the online post and the truck being in self-driving mode, Johnson said the case could be reopened.
When reached by the RGJ Thursday morning, Challinger confirmed the Cybertruck was in self-driving mode. He declined to say if he received a response from Tesla after tagging the company in his post on X.
"I rather not discuss it at this time," he said.
Asked why he didn't take the Cybertruck out of self-driving mode as it veered off the road, Challinger hung up.
On X, Challinger, who also tagged Elon Musk, the AI team of Tesla and a Cybertruck engineer, wrote that he wanted to make sure the company had the data from the incident.
"Service center etc. has been less than responsive on this. I do have the dashcam footage. I want to get it out there as a PSA that it can happen, even on v13, but I'm hesitant because I don't want the attention, and I don't want to give the bears/haters any material."
In a January post that was deleted Thursday afternoon, Challinger wrote on X:
"Sometimes I decide to go somewhere and turn on @Tesla FSD and then I forget where I decided to go and then it starts turning into Taco Bell or whatever and I'm like wtf is it doing and then I'm like oh right Taco Bell ..."
After the crash story had spread online, someone responded on Feb. 9, "Who's here from the cyber truck crash?" referring to replies to the January post.
"That doesn't mean I'm not paying attention to the driving, only that I'm not paying attention to the navigation," Challinger answered back.
To which another poster replied, "Lmao."
Challinger responded to another comment on X on Feb. 9:
"What matters is, I was distracted, FSD was in control, the vehicle crashed. I may be risking my insurance claim with what I've already disclosed online. I don't owe you any explanations. I'm here to tell people it can happen. Pay attention."
"What if there was a pedestrian right in front of the pole?" someone replied.
"More likely it would have turned the whole scenario into a non-issue," Challinger replied. "FSD is heavily trained on pedestrian scenarios and is very sensitive to them."