--- title: "Tesla on “Lane Assistance” Mode Gets Horrifically Impaled on Guardrail" description: "While Tesla's \"Autopilot\" and \"FSD\" features have generated controversy, its \"lane assist\" mode may be behind a bad crash in California." date: "2025-07-09" modified: "2025-07-09" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/tesla-crash-lane-assist-impaled" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "lane assist" - "model y" - "tesla" - "tesla crash" --- # Tesla on “Lane Assistance” Mode Gets Horrifically Impaled on Guardrail ![While Tesla's "Autopilot" and "FSD" features have generated controversy, its "lane assist" mode may be behind a bad crash in California.]() *\Image: California Highway Patrol\* While Tesla's so-called "[Autopilot]()" and "[Full Self-Driving]()" features [have generated]() more than their [share of controversy](), one of the company's other assisted driving modes is now in the spotlight after a nail-biting crash in California. As [*SFGate* reports](), a young Tesla driver walked away with minor injuries after his Model Y careened off the I-5 interstate and crashed directly into a guardrail in the wee hours of morning, becoming impaled all the way through. According to California Highway Patrol spokesperson Myles Anderson, who spoke to *SFGate*, the 23-year-old driver was using Tesla's "lane assist" and cruise control features when the collision occurred. Though the local CHP office claimed in a Facebook post that the Tesla veered off the highway for "[unknown reasons]()," Anderson noted that police did not arrest the driver and have no reason to suspect he was inebriated or under the influence. Still, in that same post — which also featured some truly gnarly photos of the crash's aftermath, including the guardrail penetrating out the back of the vehicle like a giant metal shish kabob — the local highway patrol cautioned safety when using assisted driving features. "Driving a vehicle requires 100 percent attention to the road," the CHP's post warned. "Avoid distractions and focus on driving." https://www.twitter.com/Teslarati/status/1942378517443862780 This is, unfortunately, not the first time we've heard about a Tesla getting impaled. Last year, a black Tesla was speeding down the 215 Freeway near San Bernardino, California [when it collided with two other cars](), rolled over multiple times, and became impaled on a metal fence pole. In that occasion as in this one, there were no serious injuries — except in that case, *four* people survived rather than one, and as [video of the crash's aftermath shows](), the pole missed the front passenger by mere inches. https://youtu.be/5fwefETWzjA On that occasion, no assisted driving feature was named as a cause of the crash, though the drivers of the other two cars involved in the collision had just left a concert before the incident occurred. In the more recent impaling incident, [Tesla fanboys were quick to claim]() that the people inside the cars escaped with their lives because of the [company's safety features]() — but honestly, it seems that in both scenarios, it was pure, dumb luck that saved their lives. **More on Tesla:** [*Tesla Robotaxi Rider Gets Bizarre Call Saying She Has to Exit Vehicle Immediately*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()