Coordinates listed for a Tesla cybertruck which crashed into a utility pole, while allegedly in self-drive mode earlier this month, point to Reno. Luckily no one was reported injured in the crash in this photo posted on X.
The coordinates listed as 39.623880,-119.882032 are on Stead Blvd right by Stead Elementary school, where arrows point back into a narrower lane before a crosswalk.
The news originated from this photo from a post on X by Jonathan Challinger, with Reno PD confirming to Fortune.com there was a crash involving a driver named Challinger in early February.
A nearby Chevron and Little Caesars can be seen on the photo as is the case on Stead Blvd.
Challinger wrote his cybertruck was in full self-driving system mode but that it failed to recognize the lane setup.
“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,” the usually Florida-based software developer wrote on X.
He said he wasn’t looking at the road when it happened.
“Big fail on my part, obviously. Don't make the same mistake I did. Pay attention. It can happen,” he wrote.
He then tagged the Tesla AI account asking to send along data from the crash.
“I do have the dashcam footage. I want to get it out there as a PSA that it can happen … but I'm hesitant because I don't want the attention and I don't want to give the bears/haters any material.
Spread my message and help save others from the same fate or far worse,” he added.
In the past few days, there has been intense dissection on Reddit and X over what exactly may have happened and why the self-driving mode may have failed to work in this case, including from people blaming the street’s design.
It comes as Tesla is preparing to launch an autonomous driving robotaxi service later this year in Austin, Texas.
Our Town Reno reporting, Feb. 12, 2025