BYD called its autonomous driving system “God’s Eye.” Turns out God, like every single AI on the planet, hallucinates.
Bloomberg is reporting that owners of BYD’s flagship Yangwang U8 are experiencing what the company probably did not intend as a feature: their $230,000 SUVs randomly accelerating to 93 km/h in 60 zones, jerking into adjacent lanes without warning, and generally behaving like a drunk teen teen on a bender.
One Chinese entrepreneur described his U8 doing exactly that. Just minding his own business, obeying the speed limit like a responsible citizen, when the car decided 60 was merely a suggestion, and floored it. The lane change was behind door two. Surprise overtaking. Very exciting. Potentially fatal, but exciting and no cigar.
And it is not just the expensive ones. Owners of BYD’s mass-market models are flooding Chinese social media with complaints about steering flaws, navigation hallucinations, and systems that freeze at inconvenient moments, while driving. oops!
Above: Geely Starray and Which Driveline Is Best for You
#BYD #GodsEye #Yangwang #AutonomousDriving #CarNews
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ABOVE: Yangwang U8L at Auto Shanghai 2025
The Tesla Playbook
None of this should surprise anyone who has been paying attention. Tesla has been promising “Full Self-Driving” since the Endeavour sacheted up to Farm Cove. Its cars rack up crash investigations like frequent flyer points. Ford’s BlueCruise has its own growing list of incidents they’d rather people didn’t know about. The entire industry has been selling a fantasy — autonomous cars that drive themselves — while delivering beta software that occasionally mistakes a truck for the sky. Lovely in a SIM, not so much on a road.
I tested Tesla’s FSD (Supervised) when it launched in Australia. The system ran a red arrow on a right-hand turn. The main light went green and the Model 3 bolted like a scalded cat. We turned against the red. I froze. The oncoming traffic did not. It is, as I wrote at the time, “a glorified co-pilot with a superiority complex” — brilliant, infuriating, and plotting your demise while purring on your lap. Doctor Evil I am not.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved the tesla. It is grand. Is it luxury? No. And now the fancy Auto Pilot is dead and replaced by a $149 a month FSD supervised, I’m almost hesitant to use it.
BYD is just the latest to discover that calling something “God’s Eye” does not actually make it omniscient, or any other kind of “cient”. Marketing departments can spitball names all they like. Physics and software bugs will still smack you upside the head.
What God’s Eye Actually Is
There are three versions. God’s Eye with Patch – The basic one uses cameras and radar. God’s Eye without patch which adds LiDAR. God’s Eye with Glasses throws in every sensor BYD could find. All of them are advertised as semi-autonomous, which is the car industry’s way of saying “it mostly works but please keep your hands on the wheel and your lawyer on speed dial.”
The Yangwang U8 is supposed to be BYD’s halo product. Sadly, a halo is what drivers may well end up with. Picture it: Sicily, 1922…. But, I digress… We have a Quad-motor plug-in hybrid with 880kW that does tank turns, floats in water, costs a quarter of a million dollars, makes martinis, and now, it comes with bonus unintended acceleration.
The Australia Question
BYD has not confirmed whether God’s Eye will come to Australia. Given how things are going, they might want to sort out the whole “randomly trying to kill the driver” issue first. Other Australian publications have asked. BYD spin doctors have not answered.
In the meantime, Australian BYD owners can relax knowing their Atto 3s and Sealions are not yet trying to merge into oncoming traffic all of their accord – oh no.
Yet the Bigger Problem
The autonomous driving race is being run by marketing departments and peckerheads with pocket protectors, not experienced engineers. Australia is one of the most saturated auto markets on the planet, yet every brand wants to claim their car drives itself. None of them want to admit that the technology is not ready. So they ship half-baked puddings, slap a disclaimer on the icing, and hope the lawyers can direct attention elsewhere.
Tesla does it. BYD does it. They all do it. And every time a car decides to accelerate into traffic or swerve into a barrier, the company shrugs and blames the driver for not paying attention to the system that was supposed to pay attention for them.
BYD wanted to be the world’s biggest car company. Congratulations. They are now big enough to have the same problems as everyone else.
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Alan Zurvas is the founder and editor of Gay Car Boys, Australia's leading LGBTQI+ automotive publication. Before launching GCB in 2008, Alan's automotive writing was published in SameSame.com.au and the Star Observer. With over 16 years of hands-on car reviewing experience, Alan brings an honest, irreverent voice to every review — championing value and innovation over brand loyalty.
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