The infamous Tesla hacker @greentheonly recently discovered and tested what he calls “Elon Mode” for the Full Self-Driving Beta. That name was chosen as the hidden mode allows the vehicle to operate without the usual nags to hold the steering wheel. With the standard FSD Beta, Tesla requires hands-on steering confirmation to work. It also uses the cabin camera to check that the driver is looking forward.
The experience for Green was a little chaotic, but it went better than his prior experiences. Some of the strange things the vehicle did included randomly changing lanes and slow driving on the highway. Green did not share how he was able to active “Elon Mode,” but he did show off more than 16 minutes of action from his 600-mile (965km) drive with FSD Beta 11.4.3 with Elon Mode.
Green did not confirm what vehicle he used, but the video shows that it is was an early Model X.
Interestingly, Green noted that Tesla’s software is even more secure than the last time he tested out this mode in 2017. Per his tweets, he noted that Tesla‘s level of care in its software is rare in the automotive industry and a fun puzzle to solve.
It is worth looking at Green’s Twitter thread but make sure you have a little time, as it’s a long one!
because of FSD foolishness).
So I was more tolerant towards the constant flow of cars passing me on the right and merging in front of me.
It also helped that I did not need to watch for the dreaded nag.
Overall I spent a bunch of time thinking about it and came up with this: pic.twitter.com/TaPQgClRa9— green (@greentheonly) June 17, 2023
