A Tesla Model Y is seen in a Tesla car park on May 31, 2023 in Austin, Texas.
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A security researcher using the account “@GreentheOnly” Found a secret setting In Tesla vehicles, the company can enable the feature and allow drivers to use Tesla’s advanced driver assistance systems (marketed under the names Autopilot and Full Self-Driving) without keeping their hands on the wheel for extended periods of time. superior.
when a tesla The vehicle has this mode enabled, and it eliminates what owners call “old horses.” The researchers called the feature “Elon Mode,” but that’s not the company’s internal nomenclature, he said.
Tesla does not currently offer self-driving cars. Chief Executive Elon Musk has promised to have self-driving cars since at least 2016, saying that by the end of 2017, Tesla will be able to complete demonstration drives across the United States without human intervention.
In contrast, Tesla Driver Assist requires the human driver to remain attentive and ready to brake or steer.
Typically, when a Tesla driver is using Autopilot or FSD (or a variant thereof), a visual symbol on the car’s touchscreen will flash, prompting the driver to frequently apply resistance to the steering wheel. If the driver is not holding the steering wheel, the sound of the ding ding car will escalate to a beep. If the driver still doesn’t apply torque to the steering wheel at this point, the vehicle can temporarily disable Autopilot for up to several weeks.
Musk said in a tweet in December that he would remove the “old horse” for at least some Tesla owners in January. The plan never materialized. By April 2023, Musk said in a tweet that “we are gradually reducing it to improve safety”.
The identity of the security researcher who unmasked “Elon Mode” is known to Tesla and CNBC, but asked to remain anonymous due to privacy concerns.
the edge before The “Elon mode” was reported.
He has been testing Tesla vehicle features for years and is a Tesla Model X owner. He also kept reporting bugs to the company and received tens of thousands of dollars for successful Tesla bug bounty submissions (as previously reported).
“Unless you work for Tesla or otherwise have access to the company’s relevant database,” the “white hat hacker” said in a private message interview on Tuesday, there is no way to know how many cars have “Eron mode” today.
In February, Tesla voluntarily recalled 362,758 vehicles in the United States, warning that its Full Self-Driving Beta system could cause crashes. (This is the second such recall.) Tesla provided an over-the-air software update to address the issues.
The FSD Beta system at that time could cause crashes, Safety Recall Report By allowing affected vehicles, it says, “to engage in unsafe behavior around intersections, such as driving straight through an intersection in a turn-only lane, entering an intersection controlled by a stop sign without coming to a complete stop, or driving without proper care.” A steady yellow traffic signal will be issued.”
GreentheOnly said he expected future recalls to be related to issues with the FSD Beta and instances where the system automatically stopped “traffic control devices” such as traffic lights and stop signs.
According to the latest situation Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationTesla has reported 19 accidents to the agency that resulted in at least one death, and the company’s driver-assistance systems were engaged within 30 seconds of a collision.
Tesla reported a total of 21 fatal accidents to NHTSA in vehicles equipped with driver assistance systems.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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