A Tesla Model Y with the Full Self-Driving (FSD) system activated was involved in a fatal accident in the US state of Illinois. This was discovered after analyzing Tesla's report submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The accident occurred on March 25, 2026, in Batavia. The Tesla Model Y was making a left turn at an intersection and collided with a Dodge pickup truck that was going straight and had the right of way. As a result, the Tesla passenger, 37-year-old Maggie Espinosa, sustained fatal injuries. She was a mother of five children.
Initially, the Tesla driver assistance system was not mentioned at all in the public police report. However, the automaker's report to NHTSA states that automation was "Verified Engaged" – meaning its operation before the collision was confirmed.
Moreover, in the final moments before the accident, the system recorded the "Making Left Turn" mode. The Tesla's speed at that moment was about 24 mph, or 39 km/h. This detail indicates FSD operation: regular Autopilot is not capable of performing such urban turns independently.
However, there is a fundamentally important caveat here. The mere fact that FSD was engaged does not mean that the system made a mistake or caused the accident. The Tesla collided with a pickup truck that was going straight through the intersection, and the investigation into the circumstances of the accident is ongoing. Batavia police reported that the case is under review by the Kane County Prosecutor's Office.
The main problem is that a significant portion of the information from Tesla's report is redacted. The company marked as confidential details about the software version, the vehicle's presence within the system's operating area, and a detailed description of the accident circumstances. Because of this, independent observers cannot fully reconstruct the sequence of events immediately before the collision.