Elon Musk Cracks Up As Tesla FSD Testing Raises Concerns Of A Cult In Florida Neighborhood: 'It Must Look Pretty Weird'

Former U.S. Navy Commander Chuck Cook on Friday detailed how the testing of Tesla Inc‘s full self-driving software in his neighborhood in Jacksonville, Florida, left people concerned about a potential cult.

What Happened: Cook said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that FSD test drivers moved so often on the roads that his neighborhood got concerned about the number of Teslas on the road which went in circles. They started texting each other about the potential reasons and causes, including suspicions of a cult, and considered whether they should call the police to report the “suspicious” activity, Cook said.

Before they contacted the police, however, one of the neighbors struck up a conversation with a Tesla driver who explained that they were testing the company’s software aimed at achieving autonomous driving, the retired navy commander and FSD tester said.

“It must look pretty weird when a whole fleet of the Teslas keep going through the same intersection over and over,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote in response to the anecdote with a laugh.

Why It Matters: Tesla’s FSD is presently in beta mode, meaning it is still being tested and requires active driver supervision. In June 2023, Musk said that version 12 of the software would no longer be “beta,” hinting that it would achieve full autonomy with the version, and raising anticipation.

Tesla initiated the rollout of version 12 to non-employee drivers in January, nearly two months after its release to employees. The company is now seemingly trying to scale the software’s abilities to drive by itself with the help of more on-road driving data.

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