Tesla Is Urging Drowsy Drivers to Use 'Full Self-Driving'. That Could Go Wrong (www.wired.com)

Tesla has quietly rolled an in-car prompt that tells drivers who are drifting between lanes or appearing drowsy to “let FSD assist” or “stay focused with FSD,” a change spotted in a software update and shared online. That messaging matters because Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) is still a supervised, Level 2 system that legally and technically requires drivers to pay attention and be ready to take control. Experts warn the prompts could encourage exactly the complacency FSD’s safeguards are meant to prevent: steering distracted or fatigued drivers toward relying on a non‑fully autonomous system, increasing crash risk. The concern is grounded in human factors research—“out‑of‑the‑loop” and vigilance-decrement problems—plus Tesla’s own mitigation tools (in‑cab driver-monitoring cameras, warning alerts, and a strike system). The timing raises regulatory and reputational stakes: Tesla faces lawsuits over crashes tied to Autopilot, a pending California DMV case over misleading autonomy claims, and business pressure to grow FSD subscriptions (an $8,000 purchase or $99/month) tied to executive incentives. While Tesla markets rapid progress toward unsupervised autonomy and has piloted a small robotaxi service, researchers say nudging drowsy drivers to enable supervised FSD is technically backward and could worsen safety outcomes unless paired with stronger engagement and limits.