A Tesla Model S driver got a surprise this week – a literal bug in the system that resulted in a story so weird that he had to share it. Reddit user Redebo posted on Wednesday that a giant moth flew into the front of the car, blocking a radar sensor and forcing him out of the autonomous driving mode.
“There I was, cruising along on AP doing 85mph on a lonely stretch of 93 between Kingman and Las Vegas.
SUDDENLY, my driver console flashes red and commands me to take control of the vehicle. AP drops off. Cruise control drops off and I get the ominous warning, ‘Radar visibility has been reduced.’”
The drive pulled over at a gas station, where, he vividly relates, “a car of German exchange students look quizzically at a [Model S] parked next to a pump.” There he discovered the moth, dead in the radar opening. Under this insectoid onslaught, the sensors had become blocked.
“Fearing the worst, I peek around the front of the car and was confronted with this sight. The Demon Spawn of Mothra had attacked me and rendered my autonomy useless. Never fear though, a quick scrape with the window squeegee over the radar opening and my technology was restored!”
According to Tesla, it was a bit of a fluke that an obstruction the size of the (admittedly large) moth would cover the entire forward sensor. The forward sensor is better protected in the newest redesign of the Model S as well, hidden under the panels instead of placed in a false grille, so it’s less susceptible to being covered by a physical object. Tesla also warms owners that poor visibility such as from snow or heavy rain can put the autopilot out of commission.
