Table 1 shows one common vehicle speed control related problems of the 2026 Tesla Model 3.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Vehicle Speed Control problems |
When using Tesla's full self driving (supervised) speed control is erratic and not subject to the driver's control, such as it would be when using adaptive cruise control. As a result, the available speed modes (sloth, chill, standard, hurry and mad max) can cause the vehicle to dangerously exceed speed limits and at times to drive well below the posted speed limit, causing confusion and frustration to following drivers. There is no reason why the software cannot be changed to a safer method that would permit the driver to select the speed at which the car will travel, I. E. The speed limit, similar to adaptive cruise control found in most modern vehicles. When the operator of a vehicle is not in charge of the vehicle's speed, this is inherently dangerous.
On February 5, 2026, at 12:21 pm pst, my 2026 Tesla Model 3 (hardware 4) collided with a 5-inch wooden pillar while using the autopark feature. The system failed to provide any audio chimes or visual warnings prior to the impact. I officially requested the driving logs from Tesla to investigate the cause of this failure, but Tesla refused to provide any logs or data. Furthermore, Tesla service center technicians insisted there were no hardware defects, effectively confirming that the collision was caused by a software/algorithmic failure of the Tesla vision system to detect a stationary vertical object. Despite Tesla’s claim that the vehicle is "operating as designed," the system's inability to recognize common infrastructure and its failure to warn the driver constitutes a severe safety risk. This defect must be investigated to ensure the safety of the hardware 4 autonomous platform, as the lack of proximity alerts could lead to far more serious accidents involving pedestrians or other obstacles.