There are new reports of hackers finding something bizarre by hacking into the software of Tesla cars.
A hacker has revealed that he was able to unlock the ‘Elon Mode’ which is essentially a fully self-driving mode in Tesla cars. There are tons of theories regarding the autonomous driving capabilities of Tesla cars. Elon Musk is a firm believer in the FSD (Fully Self Driving) technology. He thinks that technology could empower humans to an extent that we might never have imagined. His Tesla cars are a prime example of that. No one thought EVs would become a reality this quickly a decade ago. But here were are! However, such hackers highlight the concerns regarding the technology not being safe.
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Elon Mode in Tesla Cars
The details of this latest event have been shared by a Tesla software hacker who goes by @greentheonly on Twitter. He tweeted, “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 because of FSD foolishness).” The entire observations of his little adventure with Elon Mode have been summarized in his tweet.
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Interestingly, he has also shared real-life footage of his time inside the car with this self-driving mode. It shows the digital instrument cluster of the car and how it is able to drive itself on the highway. Note that the highway is properly marked, which is the prerequisite for autonomous driving. The hardware and software of the car are able to read these signals along with traffic signs to process information and make decisions in real-time. Tesla has the FSD software in the Beta phase and is offering it to anyone who pays $15,000 for this option.
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What We Think
We are always excited to learn and experience new technologies associated with the automobile industry. However, we also understand the limitations and people’s tendency to misuse it. In fact, we have seen many instances from across the globe where drivers have misused the safety features in the car like semi-autonomous driving and caused injury or worse to themselves or others around them. Hence, this path must be trodden carefully. We must stress upon the fact that these functions are currently meant to aid drivers, not replace them.