Cybertruck Owner Drives Blind in Snow as Cameras Fail, Navigates at 12 mph

While driving slowly through a snowstorm, a Cybertruck owner received an alert on his vehicle’s screen reading, “Multiple cameras obstructed or blinded.” The owner, Joe Fay, captured video showing the windshield almost entirely covered in snow, with only a single wiper and the large central display providing navigation cues to help him stay in his lane. He admitted, “I couldn’t see anything—I was relying entirely on Tesla to recognize the road.” The incident sparked heated discussion online about the limitations of Tesla’s vision-based system: snow, road salt, and slush can easily obscure the cameras, and while in Full Self-Driving (FSD) mode, the system reportedly prevents drivers from activating washer fluid to clean the lenses. Although the owner emphasized that his vehicle was equipped with all-wheel drive (AWD) and high-quality tires, experts pointed out that winter tires are far more critical than drivetrain configuration in snowy conditions. Adding another layer to the debate, despite Elon Musk previously dismissing lidar as a “crutch for the foolish,” Tesla was revealed in 2024 to have purchased $2 million worth of lidar sensors. However, studies show that lidar also struggles in heavy snowfall, suffering from signal attenuation and mirror surface contamination. While electric vehicles benefit from a lower center of gravity due to their heavy battery packs, experts agree that switching to proper winter tires remains the most effective measure for safe winter driving.