During the Tesla shareholders meeting on November 6, Elon Musk said that the electric vehicle company is almost ready to allow texting and driving. According to Electrek, Musk said the feature could come into full self-driving mode in just a month or two.
The biggest news from the shareholders’ event is related to Musk’s pay package. At the meeting, shareholders voted to approve Musk’s $1 trillion pay package, which is set to make the world’s richest man even richer. However, the CEO’s “texting and driving” comments are also worth a closer look.
In Tesla’s Full Self-Driving mode (FSD), drivers can go hands-free, although they do need to pay attention and occasionally make contact with the wheel. If drivers attempt to use a mobile device while FSD is engaged, the Autopilot feature is designed to detect this activity and issue a warning to the driver.
The Tesla online driver manual states: “Do not use a handheld device while using Autopilot features. If the cabin camera detects a handheld device while Autopilot is on, the touchscreen displays a message reminding you to pay attention.”
mashable light speed
Now, Musk says the company believes FSD is advanced enough that drivers can look away from the road and send text messages. This follows Tesla’s introduction of a new “Mad Max” mode for FSD customers, which allows higher speeds and more aggressive lane changes. That facility, which opened in October, almost immediately attracted the attention of federal investigators.
Of course, most states (as well as many cities and counties) have laws against sending text messages while driving. In fact, Montana is the only state that does not have a blanket ban on the practice.
We should also point out that Musk has a long history of overestimating timelines for his products, especially when it comes to self-driving.
In 2017, he predicted that drivers would be able to take a nap while driving by 2019. Undaunted, he predicted in 2019 that robotaxis would soon be road-ready. Tesla launched its robotaxi service this year in the one and only Austin, Texas.