A Tesla owner recently shared a theory on factors that might have led up to the fatal Model X accident near Mountain View, CA, on March 23. Driving on the same stretch of road on Autopilot, the Tesla owner observed that there were deviations on the street’s markings and repair cuts — things which might have caused the electric car’s sensors to misread the highway’s lanes.
The 36-second clip was uploaded and shared on YouTube by Privater, who included annotations to the video highlighting his observations. At the 0:05-second mark on the clip, the Tesla owner noted that the markings on the road deviated from their original line due to the beginning of a repair cut. Further into the street (0:12 into the clip), Privater noted that the repair cuts in the road became very prominent. This could have confused Autopilot into thinking that it was a lane, especially under the direct glare of the sun.
As the barrier where the fatal Model X accident took place in came into view (0:23 into the video), Privater noted that the section of the road leading up to the crash cushion was marked by solid white lines. As could be seen in the Tesla owner’s clip, the lines were almost wide enough to be a lane, which could have also been misread by Autopilot.
The Tesla owner noted that he had been driving on the same stretch of road on Autopilot for almost two years. During that time, Privater stated that his car had misread the road marks and nearly collided with the crash cushion once or twice. He described his experiences as a response to a comment on his YouTube video.
A Tesla owner suggests a possible explanation for the fatal Model X accident on March 23, 2018. [Credit: Privater/YouTube]
“On the video, my car is on Autopilot. I drive the same section for nearly two years, (and) 99.9% of (the) time, I’m on Autopilot. However, this kind of error only happened to me once or twice. It’s scary enough for me to keep high alert on this intersection,” he wrote.
In an update to its first statement about the fatal Model X accident, Tesla confirmed that the ill-fated electric SUV was on Autopilot when it collided with the highway barrier. According to Tesla, the Model X driver had received several visual warnings and one audible hands-on warning earlier during the drive. The ill-fated electric SUV’s driver had also not placed his hands on the steering wheel for 6 seconds before the fatal accident. Overall, the Model X driver had about 5 seconds and 150 meters of unobstructed view to steer the car away from the highway divider before the collision occurred.
In a statement to Reuters, NTSB spokesman Chris O’Neil expressed the agency’s disagreement about the Elon Musk-led company’s decision to release information about the investigation to the public.
“The agency needs the cooperation of Tesla to decode the data the vehicle recorded. In each of our investigations involving a Tesla vehicle, Tesla has been extremely cooperative on assisting with the vehicle data. However, the NTSB is unhappy with the release of investigative information by Tesla,” O’Neil said.
As we noted in a previous report, the Model X crash was so severe because a crash attenuator, a highway safety device designed to absorb the impact of a colliding vehicle, had not been repaired by CalTrans since a 2010 Toyota Prius smashed into the safety device 11 days before the Tesla accident. In a statement to ABC7 News, Caltrans stated that the standard timeline for a crash attenuator’s repair is 7 days or 5 business days after an accident. The safety device’s repairs were delayed, however, due to storms in the area.
Watch Privater’s Autopilot drive-by in the video below.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk hits back at former Tesla employee who disagrees with pay package
Tesla is worth more than all other automotive companies combined. Which of those CEOs would you like to run Tesla?
It won’t be me.
Elon Musk gave a tough response to a former Tesla employee who spoke out on X about the structure of the CEO’s pay package, arguing that it is an overpayment and would not generate enough shareholder value.
Without a doubt, the biggest issue on the bill at this year’s Tesla Shareholder Meeting in November is that of the pay package that was proposed to CEO Elon Musk.
As the Shareholder Meeting approaches, Tesla is urging those investors to vote in support of Musk’s pay package. So far, the community has been overwhelmingly supportive of giving Musk his massive payday, which could give him $1 trillion in additional holdings if he completes each of the outlined performance tranches.
However, there are a handful of institutional and individual shareholders who have pushed back against the package, either because of its value or because they feel it does not benefit shareholders enough.
Last week, we reported that Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) advised voting against Tesla’s pay package for Musk. The firm said the payday would give Musk”extraordinarily high pay opportunities over the next ten years,” and it would “reduce the board’s ability to meaningfully adjust future pay levels.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package hits first adversity from proxy firm
Additionally, it called the value of the pay package “astronomical.”
On Saturday, a former Tesla employee said on X that Tesla’s proposed pay package for Musk would “barely beat inflation and it would underperform the S&P 500 considerably.” Additionally, he said:
“Sorry, Tesla, some of us (and supposedly, ISS too) simply don’t think that underperforming the S&P 500 this much is worth paying somebody 20 billion dollars worth of company value.
As a fan, I love Tesla, I want it to succeed. As a shareholder, I don’t want Tesla to over-pay for its CEO I strongly believe that the 2025 pay package proposal would over-pay for its CEO, and that other competent CEOs could grow Tesla just as much with way less political drama and cost investors much less that this proposal.”
Musk responded bluntly:
“Tesla is worth more than all other automotive companies combined. Which of those CEOs would you like to run Tesla? It won’t be me.”
Tesla is worth more than all other automotive companies combined. Which of those CEOs would you like to run Tesla?
It won’t be me.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 19, 2025
It seems the worry about Musk’s potential involvement in politics still looms to many, based on the responses to Musk’s post, which frequently mention that as a downside of his last year as Tesla CEO. However, Tesla’s Board confronted that directly.
In its proxy filing after announcing the pay package, Tesla said that it had three commitments, one of which was that the company would “receive assurances that Musk’s involvement with the political sphere would wind down in a timely manner.”
Tesla Board takes firm stance on Elon Musk’s political involvement in pay package proxy
Musk’s previous pay package was approved by shareholders twice, but it never made it to the CEO because of a lawsuit with the Delaware Chancery Court brought forth by a small-time shareholder.
The response from Musk does seem to show that if this time is no different, he will inevitably step down as CEO in the coming years.
Tesla rivals are lagging behind the company in alarming fashion in this crucial EV necessity: charging.
Tesla has had a long-standing reputation for having the most expansive electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and even as other companies have launched their own as part of the vehicle manufacturing, nobody seems to keep pace with the EV leader.
A report from Paren exhibited this trend in Q3, showing that Tesla overwhelmingly dominated EV charging stall installations over the past three months. This data is based on U.S. installations, where Tesla has long held a dominating position as the leader in overall electric vehicle sales for many years.
In Q3, Tesla installed 1,820 new chargers in the United States, bringing its total presence to 34,328, an all-time market share of 53.2 percent of all charging stalls in the country.
What’s alarming is the fact that all other networks — ChargePoint, Red E, Electrify America, EV Connect, EVgo, Ionna, Blink, Pilot Flying J, and Rivian Adventure — only installed 841 chargers collectively in Q3. That is nearly 1,000 units behind Tesla, despite there being nine companies contributing as competitors.
These nine networks have 10,055 stalls in total, the data from Paren shows, accounting for 15.6 percent of the chargers in the United States.
Tesla added more Superchargers in the US in Q3 than the next nine networks combined. pic.twitter.com/zihhezI6a6
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) October 20, 2025
EV charging is such a crucial part of the ownership experience, and also a part of the ongoing expansion of EV adoption in the United States.
As more people buy EVs and they become a more prominent form of passenger transportation, more chargers are needed. Many owners charge at home, but charging options in public are important to have for traveling, commuting, and for those who do not have access to residential charging.
With Tesla opening its Supercharger Network to the majority of EV brands over the past two years, things have gotten better.
It has been alarming to see so many companies involved in EV infrastructure essentially accept the gap between Tesla and themselves; not a single company has tried to up its pace to catch up to what Tesla has.
When it comes down to it, as long as there is charging, the manufacturer does not truly matter.
However, it would be nice to see Tesla have some competition in the space, but with its domination and head start in the infrastructure division, it seems the company will have this competitive advantage for years to come.
News
Tesla updates fans on its plans for the Roadster
Earlier in 2025, Musk said Tesla would host the “most epic demo” for the Roadster in late 2025. We’re in Q4, so time is running out, but we finally got the update we’ve been waiting for from von Holzhausen on the Ride the Lightning podcast yesterday.
Tesla has finally updated fans on its plans for the Roadster after stating earlier this year it would host the “most epic demo,” showcasing the vehicle’s capabilities.
The Roadster is amongst the most highly anticipated automotive releases in the entire industry, and was set for release in 2020 initially. However, Tesla got so caught up with scaling up the Model Y and focusing on autonomy that the project took a figurative backseat.
In the years since its planned release, we have not seen much of the vehicle. Company executives like Elon Musk and Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen have hinted at things about it and teased us with potential release dates, but each time, it has been delayed.
Last year, Tesla planned to show something, but Musk saw what improvements had been made from the original design unveiled back in 2017 and figured the company could go a step further, only delaying the project another year.
But what’s another year, right?
Earlier in 2025, Musk said Tesla would host the “most epic demo” for the Roadster in late 2025. We’re in Q4, so time is running out, but we finally got the update we’ve been waiting for from von Holzhausen on the Ride the Lightning podcast yesterday.
Confirming the demo was still on for this year, he also teased some new features that the Roadster will have, like new paint options.
Von Holzhausen said:
“I’m excited to showcase the Roadster for a lot of different reasons. The wait will be worth it.”
Additionally, he said the capabilities of the Roadster are truly something, and they have gotten the vehicle to a point that it seems to test the “limits of physics.” Franz added that Tesla has “really gotten to a point where we are going to be achieving that standard that we set out.”
Obviously, the Roadster is not a major contributor to Tesla’s mission or to its future, which mostly leans on artificial intelligence and Robotaxi or autonomy. However, it is still a product that Tesla needs to offer, as many have put massive $250,000 downpayments on the vehicle in an attempt to purchase one.
Tesla has not yet announced a date for its demo of the Roadster, but based on Franz’s interview, it seems the company is still on track to hold that by the end of the year.
The full episode with Franz von Holzhausen on the Ride the Lightning podcast is available here.
Elon Musk hits back at former Tesla employee who disagrees with pay package
Tesla rivals are lagging behind alarmingly in this crucial EV necessity
Tesla updates fans on its plans for the Roadster
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