Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in an X post Thursday that owners can text and drive with the latest version of his company’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) driver-assistance software, despite the fact that it’s illegal to do so in most states.
Musk replied to another user who had noticed the newest update to the software, known as FSD, was not flashing a warning as he used his phone while driving. The Tesla CEO wrote the update allows it “depending on context of surrounding traffic.”
Musk didn’t offer any details, and Tesla does not have a PR team that can provide more information. Musk didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Nearly all 50 states have banned texting while driving, and around half of states have made any handheld phone usage while driving illegal, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Despite Musk’s perpetual hype, FSD is still a driver-assistance system that does not make Tesla’s vehicles fully autonomous. Drivers initially needed to have their hands on the wheel even when FSD was engaged. That requirement was later removed and allowed drivers to have hands off as long as the in-cabin camera detected they were paying attention to the road.
FSD uses a mix of in-cabin camera and steering wheel sensors to monitor a driver’s attentiveness. And because FSD is just driver-assistance software, and not full autonomy, drivers need to be ready to take control of the vehicle if the system encounters a situation it cannot handle. This handover of control is often a major component of crashes that involve the use of driver-assistance systems.
Musk himself has in the past said that Autopilot, the driver-assistance system that comes standard in all Teslas, sometimes made drivers too complacent and confident. Regulators have found more than a dozen fatal crashes in which Autopilot was active.
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is currently investigating the FSD software after it discovered more than 50 reports of it running red lights or crossing into the wrong lanes. The NHTSA is also probing FSD for reported crashes in low-visibility conditions. The NHTSA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tesla is also near the end of a long legal battle with the California Department of Motor Vehicles over how the company has marketed FSD and its less-capable predecessor, Autopilot. During a series of hearings in July, the DMV accused Tesla of misleading customers for years that their cars can drive themselves. The state agency has asked a judge to suspend the company’s sale and manufacturing of its cars for at least 30 days. A decision in that case is expected by the end of this year.
Correction: Tesla Autopilot requires hands on while engaged. FSD initially required hands on and later removed that requirement.
