‘Spooky Thing:’ Man Drives Through the Woods. His Truck Says He’s Surrounded by People—But No One’s There

A Rivian R1T owner was creeped out during a drive through the woods after his car showed him invisible people. Dominic Armand (@dominicarmand) posted a viral clip documenting what he believed to be a strange experience. However, was his car really spotting ghosts? Or is there a more pragmatic explanation as to why his car was showing so many figures ambling about his ride?

Rivian R1T Senses People That Are Not There

Armand’s TikTok begins with him slowly driving between a line of trees.

“Just going through the dark woods and everything, right? About to be sunset. Spooky thing, though. My truck is saying there’s people around me,” he says, before panning down to his dashboard. Right above the steering wheel is a screen utilized to display various road information.

In this instance, a series of blue human figures is depicted walking around his car. However, as the TikToker demonstrates by focusing his camera lens on the road, there’s no one in the forest.

“There’s no people around me,” he clarifies, pointing his camera back down to the dash. “But my truck says,” he stutters as more and more people pop up on the screen. It’s almost as if the vehicle’s system is clocking a series of invisible entities swirling around his car. 

“My truck says people. Watch, if I slow down, they’ll catch up. See? Right next to my,” he says, then quickly aims the lens out the driver’s side window. Again, it’s desolate: “There’s no one here,” he says.

Another invisible figure is then shown walking up to the side of the truck. “OK,” he says as the clip comes to a close.

Driver-Assistance Systems Capture “Ghosts” Often

This isn’t the first time Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) responsible for traffic and road surveillance have caught “ghosts.” For instance, a number of Tesla drivers have also reportedly captured these strange entities around their vehicles, as in a report by the University of Nebraska Medical Center. According to the piece, Tesla drivers cruising around a cemetery near the infamous Arnold Estate of “Conjuring House” fame saw what looked like human shapes in their EV’s infotainment system. Unsurprisingly, they wigged out after clocking these shapes on their car’s dashboard screen.

The write-up went on to state that Tesla’s sensors shouldn’t be able to misconstrue inanimate objects as people. However, there have been recorded instances that prove otherwise. For example, one Brazilian driver’s Tesla thought a boy wearing an orange shirt was a traffic cone.

Gallery: Rivian R1T

ADAS Spotting the Dead?

CarWale’s breakdown states ADAS units are composed of a variety of “sensors, cameras, and radar.” Moreover, the outlet highlights how these different pieces of technology work together in order to “monitor the environment around a vehicle.”

However, one may argue that it’s no coincidence that Teslas and other EVs are seeing invisible people in cemeteries. After all, that’s where corpses are interred, so wouldn’t it make sense if there are at least a handful of souls floating around and chatting it up near the afterlife watercooler?

Jalopnik reports that it’s no coincidence either—but not for the reason some paranormal enthusiasts would like to believe. The website says that Teslas aren’t seeing otherworldly entities; they’re just pretty bad at assessing what a tombstone is.

The structures come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Sometimes they’re around the same height as a small child or adult human being. Additionally, the blog stated Tesla’s ADAS road monitoring system is particularly limited by its over-reliance on cameras. Consequently, the amount of visual data being fed into its system and shown to viewers isn’t being provided with sufficient information for accurate in-dash depictions.

Motor1 has reached out to Armand via Instagram direct message for further comment.