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Tesla Is Urging Drowsy Drivers to Use 'Full Self-Driving'. That Could Go Very Wrong

wiredmagazine | 2025-09-26 11:31 | 415 views

Comments (63)
wiredmagazine 2025-09-26 11:34

The company’s FSD tech doesn’t actually self-drive. Experts say that advising customers to switch in on when they're drifting between lanes is exactly the wrong move. Read the full article: [https://www.wired.com/story/story/tesla-urging-drowsy-drivers-to-use-full-self-driving-that-could-go-very-wrong/](https://www.wired.com/story/story/tesla-urging-drowsy-drivers-to-use-full-self-driving-that-could-go-very-wrong/)

JustWannaFollowStuff 2025-09-26 11:37

How about you just don't drive a car when you're drowsy?

SisterOfBattIe 2025-09-26 11:40

>Tesla update 2025.32.3 includes an undocumented change to Tesla’s drowsiness detection feature. The change was discovered by Tesla hacker Green, who detected the change in decompiled Tesla code. When your vehicle detects that the driver is drowsy or notices multiple lane departure assistance warnings, your vehicle will display a pop-up on the screen, prompting you to proactively engage FSD to help you keep an eye on the road. "Are you sleepy? Use FSD!" - Tesla "You crashed? That's not FSD fault, you have to take over at a moment's notice!" -Also Tesla

Able_Membership_1199 2025-09-26 11:47

This has to be a clickbait title. That would be a direct incitement for customers to disregard the law, which sets up for easy state lawsuits.

elysium_pictures 2025-09-26 11:52

I really hate this company and its deceptive tactics. I hope their stock crashes one day.

makoivis 2025-09-26 11:52

It does yes and that is what they are doing. They aren’t very clever.

Scrutinizer 2025-09-26 11:56

It's not a question of if, it's a question of when.

mologav 2025-09-26 12:07

We’ve all been waiting a long time

shiroandae 2025-09-26 12:08

Well but they’re above the law so…

makoivis 2025-09-26 12:12

Haven’t they lost several suits

Spooms2010 2025-09-26 12:14

My model Y has saved my life a number of times while on autopilot. I live in the country and always need to drive a long distance every time I see one of my family members in Melbourne. So I can easily fall asleep and end up in a tree at 110 kph! Which I did in 2018 in my friends Volkswagen Amarok. I tank my lucky stats that I didn’t end up hitting someone else and killing them. So yes, I use auto pilot all the time now. It’s utterly fantastic to have.

RockyCreamNHotSauce 2025-09-26 12:18

Did they not learn anything from the lawsuits? It’s not the FSD system that slap them with enormous fines. It’s how they marketed the system. This $500M per incident of drowsy driver on FSD for next few years. Morons.

Dommccabe 2025-09-26 12:23

You'll probably be featured on the news one day in a fireball unable to get out of your Tesla after FSD kills you... hopefully no one else.

gmwdim 2025-09-26 12:24

Learn to stop and rest if you’re too tired to drive, before you kill someone.

shiroandae 2025-09-26 12:28

None of them hurt.

rkcth 2025-09-26 12:40

And maybe get a CPAP, this is a symptom of poor sleep.

Withnail2019 2025-09-26 12:40

Drowsy drivers should pull off the road and rest, end of story.

Engunnear 2025-09-26 12:52

Remember the day after the verdict came down in Florida, when fElon retweeted some idiot playing with her hair while FSD made her car move around?

DamNamesTaken11 2025-09-26 13:13

Going to get someone killed and is deceptive, but the current NTSB and SEC don’t care.

Lacrewpandora 2025-09-26 13:19

Have you ever considered: *Pulling over to rest when you're tired?* I know its old fashioned, but has a 100% success rate.

Carribean-Diver 2025-09-26 13:28

It's okay. They've already tested the automatic post-crash data-deletion subroutine. It works.

SoCalDomVC 2025-09-26 13:40

That should stop it from happening from now on, thanks mate. Now do drunk driving!

Gnoll_For_Initiative 2025-09-26 13:41

FUCKING PULL OVER AND SLEEP  If FSD has saved your life MULTIPLE times then for the love of God surrender your driver's license.

Tntn13 2025-09-26 13:47

Honestly? I get this. The eye tracking is annoying to a fault. Dosing off in stop and go traffic I could see it being much safer with than without. It will beep as soon as you close your eyes pretty much. Without you’d just drift off into oblivion lol.

xMagnis 2025-09-26 13:48

Archived version https://archive.ph/ghyiq

Engunnear 2025-09-26 13:58

Thank you for helping u/wiredmagazine stay in compliance with Rule 6.

Engunnear 2025-09-26 13:59

They learned that they can afford very expensive legal representation, and they have an army of assholes ready to defend them from any amount of logic and reason.

hashswag00 2025-09-26 14:06

Or a car so boring it makes you drowsy

Slighted_Inevitable 2025-09-26 14:09

In any sane country, this would put Tesla under massive liability because the correct answer is if you’re drowsy don’t goddamn drive.

Lacrewpandora 2025-09-26 14:25

I'm sure they'll drag them out with appeals, and it will be several years before these lawsuits affect TSLA's cash position. Plenty of time for TSLA's leadership to cash in on more stonk.

RockyCreamNHotSauce 2025-09-26 14:39

Except those lawsuits they settled or lost in court. The precedent has been established. The same argument will win almost certainly without some sort of political attack on the courts.

Trick_Judgment2639 2025-09-26 15:05

Imagine creating self driving that you're not supposed to trust, the idiocy inherent in that amazes me.

[deleted] 2025-09-26 15:29

>My model Y has saved my life a number of times while on autopilot. guessing these people had different experience. **Tesla Sued In Australia For Overpromising Range, Phantom Braking, Misleading FSD** [https://www.carscoops.com/2025/02/tesla-sued-in-australia-for-overpromising-range-phantom-braking-misleading-fsd/](https://www.carscoops.com/2025/02/tesla-sued-in-australia-for-overpromising-range-phantom-braking-misleading-fsd/) >I tank my lucky stats that I didn’t end up hitting someone else and killing them. keep counting those stars. **Deadly Tesla Crash Raises Questions About Vision-Based Self-Driving Systems** [https://www.carscoops.com/2025/06/tesla-fatal-crash-arizona-fsd-vision-only-safety-investigation/](https://www.carscoops.com/2025/06/tesla-fatal-crash-arizona-fsd-vision-only-safety-investigation/) Video from the Tesla shows that the roadway leading up to the crash was obscured by direct sunlight on the horizon. >So I can easily fall asleep which means if the car says take over, you're kind of fucked?

mrpopenfresh 2025-09-26 15:36

How is that legal

zjbird 2025-09-26 15:49

Someone needs to take your license away before you kill someone.

[deleted] 2025-09-26 15:52

[removed]

pzerr 2025-09-26 16:06

Let just encourage inattentive drivers to continue driving. And to use a system that is well documented and even portrayed by Tesla no less to not be ready for full self driving.

Engunnear 2025-09-26 16:32

What would you say if GM encouraged you to use SuperCruise when you're drunk?

Engunnear 2025-09-26 16:36

Things only become illegal when legislators pass a law making them so. If they figure nobody is stupid enough to do a thing, it's generally not illegal.

RealTesla-ModTeam 2025-09-26 16:37

Completely unrelated to the subject of the thread.

BidAccomplished4641 2025-09-26 16:56

Crash = another new car sale. Stock up on this news!

Fun_Volume2150 2025-09-26 17:12

Sounds like they’re trying to upsell drivers to FSD /s with incredibly dangerous and misleading in-car messaging. I don’t think that the judge in the CA DMV case can use this in deciding the case, but maybe the DMV can use it to ask for a more drastic penalty.

Downtown_Rock_3164 2025-09-26 17:15

I ended up turning off FSD a couple of updates ago because it became completely unreliable and borderline reckless. It would slam on the brakes at shadows on the highway, drift toward white lines when off-ramps or extra lanes opened, and constantly mismanage speed — either going way too fast or well under the limit. Even lane keep assist still struggles with these issues. Honestly, I wouldn’t trust it unattended; the risks are too high. What’s most frustrating is that earlier versions worked better, with only minor glitches, but recent updates have made it worse.

RocketLabBeatsSpaceX 2025-09-26 17:23

Let’s hope you lose your license soon. FSD is a flawed cruise control. We get it, you probably paid Tesla $14,000 for it so now you like to go around trying to convince yourself and others that it’s something great. You were robbed. Elon thanks you for your donation!

ArQ7777 2025-09-26 18:17

Die while you are sleeping. No suffering. Elon is a good man.

burns_before_reading 2025-09-26 18:28

Y'all gonna hate me for this, but it makes total sense. If you obviously shouldn't drive if you're tired, but if you're going to do it anyway, fsd will warn you if you close your eyes and pull over if you don't pay attention for too long.

[deleted] 2025-09-26 18:48

"Some of you may die..." \- Elon Musk

tony3841 2025-09-26 18:55

Not just Tesla, also their fanboys

y4udothistome 2025-09-26 19:13

That info very rarely makes it to the news which is unfortunate

ADDSquirell69 2025-09-26 19:14

The new Naked Gun movie pretty much covers this scenario

Veegermind 2025-09-26 20:04

How about not trusting the worst brand for deaths per billion km (by over double the US national average)? Full Self Driving= Full time monitoring for fuck ups, at risk of your life.

Veegermind 2025-09-26 20:06

It'll be when pumping isn't enough to hide total failure.

Veegermind 2025-09-26 20:09

No regulation = companies don't need to give a fuck. Buy the politician , all the problems go away in the USA

thecavac 2025-09-26 20:10

"Why isn't a beer dispenser in the dashboard a factory option?"

iiTool 2025-09-27 13:08

Reminds me of the old joke 'my grandfather died peacefully in his sleep, unlike the screaming panic of the passengers in his car'

ukulele_bruh 2025-09-27 13:22

This is not a company with safety is a priority clearly.

JailYard 2025-09-27 14:45

This effort to induce demonstrably impaired drivers to unlawfully operate a motor vehicle should justify imposing personal criminal liability on Tesla's directors and executive officers for the inevitable consequences.

ArQ7777 2025-09-27 16:18

It is normal that in work space, workers make accidents some times.

Intrepid_Cap1242 2025-09-29 13:48

No way. It's 98% perfect! It only crashes twice a month, just like every human does.

holamau 2025-09-30 01:45

Tesla should be urging drowsy drivers not to operate the fucking car.

Seaker42 2025-09-30 14:11

Seems pretty reasonable to me. If people are honest, we all drive when drowsy at times. But, now that I have FSD (it's pretty much the only way I drive my model Y), it's so much safer for everyone in those times where I have to drive an hour or so late at night and I'm not driving in high speed urban traffic. I don't sleep, but the ability to glance away for a couple seconds or just move around some helps keep me more than alert enough to monitor FSD.

Bravadette 2025-10-01 12:29

Gateway-Frederick_Pohl.MP4

ConkerPrime 2025-10-02 10:48

Dang, just no fuck given that their program isn’t capable of unintended driving. Yeah that will not create lawsuits.

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