Tesla Hacker Claims To Have Discovered Hidden Hands-Free 'Elon Mode'

Photo: Tesla

If you’re using Tesla’s so-called Full Self Driving, not only is it not actually self-driving, but the system requires you to keep a hand on the wheel and uses a camera to make sure you’re looking at the road. Like pretty much everything Tesla does, it’s an imperfect system that owners can find frustrating, but at the same time, it’s a necessary safety feature. One that, apparently, you can turn off.

Tesla’s Big Discounts Worked, Sort Of

The Verge reports that Twitter user @greentheonly, an anonymous user who reportedly has a long history of hacking Tesla’s software, claims to have found something called “Elon Mode.” Apparently, Elon Mode lets you use Full Self Driving without driver monitoring, allowing for true hands-free driving. Greentheonly didn’t share how to activate Elon Mode but maintained that it’s real and that they were able to use it for close to 600 miles.

But just because they were able to drive that far without any driver nags doesn’t mean the system did a great job. Later in the thread, they mentioned that the car liked to drive slowly and would randomly change lanes. And, of course, even with driver monitoring, there are still huge safety issues with Tesla’s driver-assistance system in general. Since 2019, it’s been involved in 736 crashes and linked to 17 deaths.

If, as the name suggests, this was a feature Tesla included specifically for Elon Musk to use in his personal car, that is a good metaphor for his whole deal. But it’s also possible that Tesla plans to roll it out to the public, though without massive improvements to the system itself seems ridiculously unsafe at best.

Look ma, no nags