And it's surprisingly underwhelming.
A white hat hacker found Tesla Full Self-Driving Beta's (FSDB) “God Mode” hidden in the software, revealing that it's internally tagged by Tesla as Elon Mode. The term God Mode comes from the gaming industry, which makes a player impervious to damage, but when it comes to industrial software, like a phone or computer's operating system or an autonomous driving system like FSDB, it simply means unrestricted access.
FSDB's God Mode is amusingly called Elon Mode, though it doesn't seem to offer much more than the standard item.
The white hat hacker in question, Green, discovered Elon Mode and tested it over a 600-mile trip. Apparently, in Elon Mode, the forward collision warning is triggered more often, but the main difference is a significant drop in steering wheel nags.
CarBuzz
Impressions after nearly 600 miles on 11.4.3 with Elon mode (could not get a non-Tesla car to try in time).
It went much better than the prior experiment obviously.
Many contributing factors. I was not as late so I did not mind as much (still ended up 5 minutes late solely
— green (@greentheonly) June 17, 2023
If you're unfamiliar with Tesla terminology, a “nag” is when the car reminds you to put your hands back on the steering wheel. According to the autonomous driving level standards set by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), your hands must remain on the steering wheel even when a Level 2 system like FSDB is active. And no matter how much the Tesla fanboys want to argue the point, FSDB is still a Level 2 system. Honda was the first automaker to make it to Level 3, followed by Mercedes, the first manufacturer to get permission to use it in the USA.
The newly discovered Elon Mode suggests that Tesla is working toward Level 3. Late last year, Elon Musk tweeted a response to a Twitter user, implying that nags would be removed in January 2023. Musk missing a deadline is hardly newsworthy, but Tesla would have to introduce a system capable of Level 3 autonomy first to remove nagging.
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According to Green, the journey in Elon Mode was pleasant. He admits that his driving style is more aggressive but that he was more comfortable with the system overall. He also believes that Tesla can market FSDB as a Level 3 system. It's worth noting that Green is one of the more balanced Tesla owners out there, also calling the company out when it makes serious customer data mistakes.
Green used the latest version of FSDB (v.11.4.1), available to Model S, 3, X, and Y owners. Many customers were disappointed when this version rolled out in May, considering Musk's promises about less nagging in January.
FSDB V12 might be the giant leap forward to Level 3 that many customers are hoping for, despite the American automaker's ongoing Autopilot battle with the NHTSA.
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Keyword: Hacker Discovers Tesla's God Mode Is Called Elon