Tesla Driver Goes Through Cemetery. Uh, What Is That On The Touchscreen?

Tesla drivers are constantly testing the efficacy of their EVs as paranormal investigative equipment. Some folks are even taking them into cemeteries to see if they’re able to clock entities not visible to the human eye.

This is exactly what one Tesla owner from Athens, Greece, Thoukis (@thoukydidis) did with his own EV. Sure enough, the car’s infotainment display showed a horde of human bodies populating the screen.

However, when Thoukis directed his lens to the graveyard, there wasn’t anyone standing there. Just an assortment of headstones. “Cemetery had good reception. Apparently,” Thoukis penned. Additionally, a hashtag on his post mentions the term #ghosted, suggesting that the spirits of those who’ve passed on are persisting beyond the grave.

People Had Theories

Folks who responded to his video were intrigued by the footage. At least one person recommended that Thoukis attempt to establish a line of communication with the supposed spirits adjacent to his EV. Upon doing so, they suggested he “see what happens on the screen” of his Tesla.

Another individual remarked that they believe this provides key findings about the afterlife. “This proves they are not as scary as the movies portrayed. They are just minding their own business,” they wrote.

This was a sentiment echoed by someone else. “Just taking an afternoon walk I guess, leave the guys be,” they penned.

Others had more whimsical responses, quipping that the cars were attempting to hail a cab from across the veil. “They are waiting to get in line,” one joked.

Another stated, “So they all called Uber from the other side.”

Tesla Cameras And Cemeteries

Thoukis is one of many Tesla drivers who’ve purportedly clocked bizarre visual aberrations on their car’s in-dash displays. This man uploaded footage of his own drive through a cemetery. Unlike Thoukis, there wasn’t a mob of different “ghosts” on his Tesla screen. But indeed, there were human figures popping up on the dash that were otherwise invisible outside of the car.

Fox8 also reported on various other drivers who were spooked to see this phenomenon occurring in their cars. Particularly, John Ackerman of the outlet explained his intrigue over seeing two humanoid shapes, along with a dog. Bafflingly, these apparitions only showed up in a specific portion of the cemetery.

“I honestly did not expect to see anything out here. We were kind of looking around, and then … it was clear as day – someone was standing out there,” he said.

Teslas aren’t the only electric vehicles that have allegedly borne witness to the afterlife, either. The Canadian Press News reported on a video shared by a Chinese Li Auto S9 driver encountering the same phenomenon. Like Tesla drivers encountered, animations of specters popped up on their screen.

Are Teslas Actually Seeing Ghosts?

As a former Tesla Model 3 owner and paranormal investigator myself, I’m familiar with this phenomenon. However, I’m not convinced that it’s legitimate. While waiting in a McDonald’s drive-thru, my Tesla screen hallucinated an 18-wheeler in front of me. But in front of the vehicle was nothing but a bar hanging by a chain, indicating the maximum vehicle height for incoming cars.

In the same Canadian Press News piece, an explanation was offered by Li Auto. The car maker says that its Lidar system and cameras will often mistake objects for other shapes. And that’s because of the way its system is programmed to interpret visual data. This information is clocked by lenses rigged to the vehicle, and then translated into a visualization on the screen.

Notably, the outlet writes that this collision avoidance/visual aggregator software doesn’t actually take photographs of its surroundings. This means they “can easily mistake something like a static tombstone for a pedestrian,” the site details.

In fact, Tesla’s own user manual speaks to these aberrations. It writes that “several factors can reduce or impair performance, causing either unnecessary, invalid, inaccurate, or missed warnings.”

Teslas Have A Problem With Graves

This ghosting is such a prominent phenomenon that auto-centric outlet Jalopnik also reported on it. The site ruled that “your Tesla … just doesn’t recognize tombstones.” Rather, these eerie sightings were chalked up to the electric car brand’s “camera systems having several flaws.” And these same flaws are responsible for Tesla monitoring protocols “getting confused,” the site added.

So what’s happening is that while drivers are rolling through a cemetery, their car’s assessing the visual data. Then, since there’s no headstone graphic or programming to recognize these tombstones, the car attempts to process what it is. And in those moments, the closest object the software recognizes is that of a pedestrian. Consequently, this is what comes up on the screen and gets folks thinking their Great Grandpa Maury is walking up to their car and urging them to rethink their life choices.

Again, from my own personal research into hauntings, these claims are akin to findings folks have reportedly made with SLS cameras. These devices are basically repurposed Microsoft Xbox Kinect units. They’re said to map out movements of otherworldly entities in a designated area. From my own implementation of these devices, I’ve found they aren’t very reliable and are rife with false positives.

BroBible has reached out to Tesla via email and Thoukis via TikTok direct message for further information.