Tesla’s Own FSD Trainers Don’t Trust The Technology They Helped Build

Image Credit: Tesla.

Tesla has spent years promising that Full Self-Driving technology is on the verge of making human drivers obsolete. According to a major Reuters investigation, many of the people who helped train the system are not convinced it is anywhere close.

The report paints a deeply troubling picture of Tesla’s self-driving efforts, combining interviews with former data labelers, engineers, and safety researchers who questioned both the technology’s real-world capabilities and the company’s public safety claims. Several former employees reportedly said they would never trust Tesla’s FSD system to drive them, despite spending years helping train the AI behind it.

Reuters interviewed nine former Tesla data labelers along with a former self-driving engineer and numerous traffic-safety experts. Seven of those former labelers said they personally would not trust the software. One reportedly said he would not ride in a Tesla robotaxi “if you paid me.”

The findings arrive at a critical moment for Tesla. Elon Musk continues positioning autonomy and robotaxis as central to the company’s future value, while Tesla simultaneously faces growing regulatory scrutiny, lawsuits, and questions about whether its self-driving ambitions can realistically scale.

Former Employees Describe Frequent Failures

Image Credit: Tesla.

Tesla’s data labelers work behind the scenes reviewing footage captured by vehicles running Full Self-Driving. Their job involves identifying successful and failed driving behavior so engineers can improve the software.

According to Reuters, those workers routinely observed troubling situations involving FSD struggling with basic driving tasks. Former employees described incidents where Teslas allegedly failed to recognize emergency vehicles, construction zones, school buses, pedestrians, and even children near roadways.

Several former labelers also recalled videos showing Teslas striking…

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