This TeslaCam video captures the moment a Tesla Model Y on autopilot moves to avoid a diesel Ram pickup. It turns out that the truck was trying to roll coal into the Tesla just as the autopilot moved to avoid the truck.
We do not believe that the autopilot is moving to avoid the large cloud of black smoke that comes out of the modified diesel truck. Instead, it is the driver reacting to avoid the coal laminate, but regardless, these attempts at coal lamination have failed to obtain the Tesla. And yes, it looks like the diesel Ram driver is deliberately targeting the Tesla.
According to the Tesla Tech video uploader:
Fun video from Tesla Cam that shows how the autopilot avoids the collection of coal with angry Ram. Model 3, model Y, S and X come with autopilot and Dashcam. The dashcam must always be enabled to capture unexpected events. The Coal Rolling Ram repeatedly tries to blow up Tesla with soot, but fails.
We in InsideEVs covered numerous videos in which a diesel truck purposely targets a Tesla with the illegal act of laminating coal. It seems that some of these truck drivers have something against clean electric car owners in general and Teslas more specifically. Sometimes the rolled coal may not target the Tesla, but only the illegally modified truck speeding and smoking as these cancerous platforms do. In other cases, coal rolling combines with a bit of road rage on the part of the diesel truck driver as well.
And yes, the act of laminating coal (modifying a diesel engine to emit all types of waste) is illegal in most (if not all) states of the United States, but it is not always enforced.
What’s rolling coal? Well, it’s something that we EV drivers can’t and wouldn’t do, but if you want a quick definition, then let’s go:
Mineral coal is the practice of modifying a diesel engine to increase the amount of fuel that enters the engine, in order to emit large amounts of exhaust gases with black or gray soot into the air.