A Tesla hacker who has made a reputation for doing deep dives into the electric vehicle maker’s code for years has reportedly accessed “Elon Mode,” an alleged setting for FSD Beta that effectively makes the system a hands-free solution.
The hacker, who goes by the username @greentheonly on Twitter, noted that he was able to access “Elon Mode” on a 2020 Tesla that was equipped with FSD Beta 11.4.3. Considering the age of the car, it would appear that it was a vehicle without Tesla’s in-cabin camera.
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
Sharing his thoughts about the drive, the hacker noted that he arrived late to his destination due to FSD Beta’s behavior. The system reportedly also did not match Green’s driving style, as FSD Beta generally drove slowly, and it performed apparent random lane changes every so often. Overall, however, the performance of the system on divided highways is decent, and likely enough to enable zero-intervention drives on freeways.
driving style. This also explains the barrage of people that claim the car works very good and they are happy – perhaps they like to drive slow, content with random lane changes and such.If I was just reading some book/website – I'd not notice.
— green (@greentheonly) June 17, 2023
“There’s a very nonzero chance the car can navigate any two points on highway (that don’t need charging) in between with zero input needed. Obviously, I don’t have Tesla side statistics, but if they offer this as L3 where I don’t need to pay attention – it would be a solid deal at $15k,” the Tesla hacker wrote in a post on Twitter.
as L3 where I don't need to pay attention – it would be a solid deal at $15kMajority of problems I met were mostly due to shortsightedness of the stack resulting in unnecessary lane changes. If you let the car do it freely, road rage from others would be a real concern.
— green (@greentheonly) June 17, 2023
With this in mind, Green observed that the lane changes of FSD Beta on “Elon Mode” could be unnecessary and thus may also invite road rage from some drivers. At the same time, the system may also end up slowing down when it encounters a slow-moving car and not change lanes to overtake.
Oh yes and potholes/road debris – I see Tesla is working on this now, but they present real danger today of course.I have ~2 hours of nagless video footage (just because I did not rig a permanent mount and holding a gopro really fatigues one hand), though not sure it's worth u/l
— green (@greentheonly) June 17, 2023
Without its constant nags, FSD Beta would effectively become closer to a Level 3 system, which pertains to “conditional” automation. This suggests that in situations such as traffic jams, FSD Beta could operate without requiring driver input.
Other random notes: It looks like the ability to do climate keeper/camp mode/dog mode while superchanging was removed? Strange decision or bug.Elon mode still tries to put you in AP jail when you “help” it to go over 85mph or so.
— green (@greentheonly) June 17, 2023
This is something that was utilized by Mercedes-Benz, which released its Drive Pilot system in Nevada, becoming the first automaker in the US to gain approval for a Level 3 driving system. Mercedes-Benz’s Level 3 system allows drivers to take their eyes off the road while the vehicle is moving, but it only operates at speeds of up to 40 mph on “suitable freeway sections and where there is high traffic density.”
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Keyword: Tesla hacker shares insights after nearly 600-mile test on FSD Beta “Elon Mode”