Following the recent tragic accident in mid-June, when a Tesla Model 3 crashed into a home, preliminary findings from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) show that the driver overrode FSD. The driver, 44-year-old Michael Butler, claimed that the vehicle was running on FSD and that it autonomously accelerated into the home, resulting in the death of 76-year-old Martha Avila. However, the investigation has now confirmed that the driver overrode the vehicle’s speed by pressing the accelerator pedal. Manual Override A common misunderstanding in reporting is that FSD can override human input. In reality, FSD instantly yields to human intervention. However, due to the inconsistent nature of how FSD deals with human input, we can understand how casual drivers can be confused. For example, tugging on the steering wheel or hitting the brake pedal disengages FSD entirely. However, pressing the accelerator pedal keeps FSD engaged, with the human controlling the vehicle’s speed, while FSD continues to steer. This used to be even more confusing just a year or two ago. Back then, overriding the steering wheel would kick the vehicle into Traffic-Aware Cruise Control, disabling auto steer, but the vehicle would still control its speed. In the case of the crash in Katy, Texas, the NTSB retrieved electronic data confirming that Butler pressed the accelerator pedal down completely, likely meaning to tap the brake, and when the vehicle accelerated, he doubled down and pressed the pedal down completely. At that point, the driver was now choosing the vehicle’s speed, although FSD remained active. The software yielded control as engineered, allowing the driver to manually propel the Model 3 to speeds exceeding 70 mph within a 30-mph residential zone. Telemetry Versus Narratives The NTSB’s preliminary report serves as an example of just why connected vehicle telemetry is so useful. With nearly