Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed the company plans to finally remove the steering wheel nag in the next major update of Full Self-Driving (Supervised). The change will come with the release of version 12.4, which is expected to roll out as early as next week.
Tesla first introduced Autopilot back in 2015. The cars built at that time did not have in-cabin cameras to monitor the driver, so Tesla used other methods to make sure the driver was paying attention, namely visual and audio warnings to keep their hands on the steering wheel. The steering wheel doesn’t actually sense that it is being touched however, but rather the system measures the amount of torque, or force, being applied.
Fast forward to 2021 and Tesla started using the in-cabin camera, which first appeared in the Model 3 in 2018, to help monitor driver attention. This addition didn’t translate into the steering wheel nag disappearing though, as it remains a highly discussed and argued point among owners, many of whom feel the frequency of the nags is too much, and that it should be removed.
In late 2022 Musk said they were going to do just that, but not for everyone, and that only those with 10,000 miles or more of driving with FSD engaged would see the nag removed.
However, before that update was released, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) got involved, asking Tesla for information on its plans to remove the nag. Whatever information was shared was apparently enough for the NHTSA to put the brakes on Tesla’s plans.
However, it appears something has changed, or Tesla is pushing ahead with the change regardless. After suggesting a change was coming in FSD v12.4, Musk confirmed on Wednesday night that the nag will finally be removed.
Yes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2024
Given that Musk said the nag will be removed in FSD v12.4, it is unclear when or if the same change will be deployed to basic Autopilot users.
As we noted, FSD v12.4 is tentatively scheduled to be released “next week,” according to Musk. As we all know timelines provided by Musk are always fluid, but it is a safe bet that v12.4 should be released before the end of the month.
