Nearly a decade ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk doubled down on assertions that the brand’s cars were well on the way to autonomous driving. Now, in 2025, Tesla’s self-driving boss admits that the brand’s autonomous driving program is “a couple of years” behind Waymo. In terms of timing, it couldn’t be worse; a viral video recently showed a Tesla Model 3 reportedly on FSD 13.2.8 crashing into a tree and rolling over. 

A Tesla executive claimed that the brand’s self-driving tech is ‘years’ behind Waymo

Ashok Elluswamy, the head of artificial intelligence and self-driving at Tesla, made an unexpected admission recently. Elluswamy, in less-than-typical fashion for a Tesla executive, acknowledged that the self-driving program at Tesla is “years” behind that of Waymo, an autonomous taxi service operating in Austin, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix.

The AI and self-driving head said, “Technically, Waymo is already performing. We [Tesla] are maybe lagging by a couple years,” per Electrek. It’s true. While I missed the opportunity to catch a ride on one of Waymo’s self-driving Jaguar I-PACE EVs in Austin, Texas, recently, the capital city streets are dotted with the white cabs using Level 4 autonomous driving.

On the other hand, Tesla’s current architecture is at Level 2. That means constant supervision from the driver. And if a recent incident in a Model 3 with FSD 13.2.8 is any indication, supervision is for the best.  

It’s poor timing considering a recent video showing a Model 3 slamming into a tree on FSD 

The news doesn’t get any better with the mention of a recent Tesla Full Self-Driving crash. Onboard video shows a Tesla Model 3 with FSD 13.2.8 driving down a two-way rural road under ideal conditions—daytime, dry, plenty of light, and low traffic density. But after another car passes in the opposite direction, the Model 3’s supervised FSD suite spears the car across the oncoming lane.

It didn’t stop there, either. The Model 3 continues its wayward journey, leaving the road and striking a tree in the process. The impact forces the self-driving Tesla to roll over and come to a halt. Fortunately, the driver didn’t sustain any serious injuries in the wreck. However, and understandably so, a Redditor claiming to be Tesla’s passenger said that he would never use FSD again. Surprisingly, when questioned, the driver said he would consider buying another Tesla in the future. 

Check out a video of the wreck below!