Tesla FSD Still Can't Handle Railroad Crossings — Even on the Newest Build

If you drive with Tesla's Full Self-Driving engaged, here's a scenario worth keeping in the front of your mind: railroad crossings. According to a report from Electrek, a Tesla running the newest FSD build failed to stop at an active crossing this week and nearly rolled onto the tracks in front of a passing train. The driver braked manually. That's the only reason this is a news story and not something much worse.

What Happened

Auto journalist Lei Xing, co-host of the China EVs & More podcast, shared dashcam footage of the incident on X on August 26. In the video, the Tesla approaches the crossing at 9 mph with the "Self-Driving" indicator active. The crossing signals were flashing. The train was visible and audible — Xing described the horns as "pretty loud." The car slowed, then attempted to cross anyway.

"Would have been ran over by the [train] had I not braked. The rail road crossing lights were flashing and the train horns were pretty loud." — Lei Xing

The detail that raised eyebrows: when asked, Xing confirmed the car was running FSD v14.3.7, Tesla's most recent release, currently rolling out to AI4 vehicles. Tesla's v14.3 release notes earlier this year specifically claimed improved handling for "rare and unusual objects extending, hanging, or leaning into the vehicle path" — language you'd expect to cover a lowered crossing gate or a moving train. Seven point-releases later, the car still drove toward one.

This Isn't a One-Off

Electrek notes this is at least the third time this year it has documented FSD attempting to drive a Tesla into a train. The pattern goes back further:

• In March, a Tesla on FSD drove straight through lowered railroad crossing barriers in West Covina, California, making no attempt to brake until after impact.
• A month later, a Texas owner shared footage of his Tesla crashing through a railroad gate seconds ahead of an oncoming train — he had to floor the accelerator to clear the tracks, and the crossing arm struck his window on the way through.
• In 2025, a Tesla in "self-driving mode" in Pennsylvania was actually struck by a train after turning onto the tracks.

NBC News, which first surfaced the pattern, documented more than 40 accounts of Tesla vehicles failing at railroad crossings.

Regulators Are Paying Attention

NHTSA opened an investigation into FSD in October 2025 after 58 reported crashes, covering incidents where the system ran red lights and drove into oncoming traffic. That probe has since expanded to cover roughly 2.9 million FSD-equipped vehicles — one step short of a formal recall demand. Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal separately pushed the agency to investigate the railroad crossing failures specifically, calling them a "disturbing safety risk."

Meanwhile, Tesla continues to market the system as "Full Self-Driving," while its own owner's manual states the driver must remain fully attentive and ready to take over at any moment.

One Question Worth Asking

A commenter on the Electrek piece raised a point that stuck with us: do any of these systems actually listen? Train horns, ambulance sirens, emergency vehicles — sound is one of the primary ways human drivers detect a hazard before they can see it. A camera-only stack approaching a crossing at 9 mph with horns blaring has no way to weigh that input at all.

What This Means for You Behind the Wheel

None of this is a reason to panic, but it is a reason to adjust habits. FSD is a driver-assistance system, full stop — the name on the box doesn't change what the manual says.

• Treat every railroad crossing as a manual zone. Cover the brake as you approach, whether or not the gates are down. Don't wait to see what the car decides.
• Keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes up. Intervention windows at crossings are measured in seconds, not minutes.
• Run a dashcam and keep Sentry storage healthy. Nearly every one of these incidents became documentable because someone had footage. A reliable, high-endurance USB drive for Tesla's built-in dashcam is one of the cheapest pieces of insurance you can buy — and cheap flash drives are the number one reason owners find out their recording stopped weeks ago.
• Know your manual override. Braking, steering input, or the disengage stalk — whichever you use, it should be muscle memory, not something you think about.
• Carry basic roadside gear. Reflective triangles, a flashlight, and a compact jump pack matter most in exactly the situations where you'd rather not be standing near active tracks.

The takeaway from Electrek's coverage is blunt: this is the newest FSD software available, and it still can't reliably recognize the most obvious "do not proceed" signal on the road. Railroad crossings aren't an exotic edge case — they're ordinary infrastructure that any self-driving system has to handle. Until that changes, the supervision part of "supervised" is doing all the work, and it's yours.