Major Tesla oversight on Aussie roads sparks warning: 'Keep an eye out'

Conditions on roads around Australia’s remote areas can be treacherous at the best of times as motorists contend with potholes, severe weather and wildlife. And while electric vehicles like the Tesla have the help of pioneering technology that can make driving smoother, one EV owner has pointed out a major flaw.

It appears that Teslas can't recognise Australia’s native wildlife, including kangaroos as pointed out by one Tesla enthusiast. It comes as the rate of collisions between motor vehicles and kangaroos is on the rise.

“Just a heads up to Tesla owners who are driving cross country this long weekend, Tesla Vision does not recognise our national fauna such as our iconic kangaroo,” said the man. “So please take the usual precautions to slow down and keep an eye out, especially during sundown and sunrise.”

Showing a vision of his car’s touchscreen navigation system (above), the road appears clear. But through the windscreen, a kangaroo can clearly be seen standing in the middle of the road.

By comparison, the man shared another image of a person riding a bike, which is clearly seen on the touchscreen.

What is Tesla Vision?

The feature that allows motorists to see what’s ahead is called Tesla Vision. It interprets information about the environment around vehicles using cameras, algorithms and machine learning.

Tesla Vision could previously only visualise humans and dogs — and would often display other animals on the road as dogs. But after 2022, an upgrade was announced that would recognise different animals regularly found near streets like horses, cats, and other creatures.

But in Australia, it appears that this technology has not expanded to include native animals like kangaroos. Tesla did not respond to Yahoo’s questions about the feature in Australian cars.

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While Tesla owners agreed that the touchscreen did not recognise the kangaroos enough to present them on the screen, adding that it's a "good reminder" to motorists, others believe that the technology still works. in Australia.

"Yep, those of us who live in the country know this too well," one Aussie said but added: "But the T’s brakes are very effective."

Another said that the car has braked for kangaroos in the past. "Nothing displayed on the screen but it did trigger an emergency braking response even before it reached the road edge, don't assume that because it isn't displayed on the screen, it doesn't see it."

"There has been too many beautiful kangaroos needlessly killed by vehicles in our area over the past few weeks," said a third.

Collisions with kangaroos on the rise

Yahoo previously reported that Insurance claims involving collisions with kangaroos have surged across parts of Australia with one state particularly impacted, according to the nation’s biggest insurer.

NSW experienced the biggest increase, with claims involving the iconic marsupial jumping by almost 40 per cent in 2023 compared to 2022.

IAG collated data from four major insurance brands it underwrites - NRMA, CGU, WFI, and RACV - and supplied the results to Yahoo Finance. Claims involving kangaroos were up in every state except Western Australia where they remained steady.

While the data gives insight into how drivers are impacting wildlife, it's important to note the figures do not represent the total number of kangaroos hit by cars, but rather the number of claims IAG processed involving them.

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