This TeslaCam video captures the moment when a Tesla Model Y moves on Autopilot to avoid a Ram diesel pickup. It just so happens that the truck on the Tesla is trying to roll coal at the moment when Autopilot is apparently moving to avoid the pickup.
We do not believe the Autopilot moves to prevent the large plume of black smoke from coming from the modified diesel truck. On the contrary, it is the driver who responds to prevent him from rolling coal, but regardless, these coal rolling efforts did not get the Tesla. And yes, the diesel ram driver seems to be deliberately targeting the Tesla.
According to video uploader Tesla Tech:
Amusing Tesla Cam video showing how autopilot avoids Angry Ram pickup roll cabbage. Model 3, model Y, S & X are equipped with autopilot and dashcam. The dashcam should always be enabled to capture unexpected events. Coal Roll Aries Tesla repeatedly tries to explode with soot, but fails.
Us at InsideEV’s discussed numerous videos in which a diesel truck deliberately targets a Tesla with the illegal act of coal rolling. Some of these truck drivers seem to have something against owners of clean electric cars in general and Teslas more specifically. Sometimes the coal can not be aimed at the Tesla, but only the illegally modified truck that accelerates and blows out smoke like these cancer-causing rigs do. In other cases, the coal roll also combines a bit of anger on behalf of the diesel truck driver.
And yes, the role of coal (modifying a diesel engine to emit all kinds of debris) is illegal in most (if not all) US states, it just is not always applied.
What is coal? Well, that’s something our EV drivers can and cannot do, but if you want a quick definition, go here:
Rolling coal is used to adjust a diesel engine to increase the amount of fuel entering the engine, thus emitting large amounts of black or gray sooty exhaust fumes into the air.