Tesla has updated how long a Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta tester will be suspended from using the software after striking out five times for improper usage. Originally the owner would no longer have access to FSD Beta for sometimes months at a time until a subsequent update, but now you can expect to only be without it for “approximately two weeks.”
That is the length of time mentioned in the release notes for the latest FSD Beta update version 2022.44.30.5. The update started rolling out shortly after Christmas but the change was only recently noticed by Reddit user u/chill_m0de. (h/t: @tesletter)
Buried at the bottom of the section of the release notes titled ‘Full Self-Driving (Beta) Suspension,’ Tesla interestingly uses the words ‘approximately two weeks,’ which is a strange choice. It appears as though there are some other variables considered before being regaining access to the software, otherwise it would have been a simple line in the code that turned it back on after 14 days.
Aside from this change to the length, there are no other changes to how you receive a suspension. As Tesla describes in the release notes it comes about after five Forced Autopilot Disengagements (the red steering wheel on the screen) which happens only after “several audio and visual warnings for inattentiveness.”
Tesla now also initiates a Forced Autopilot Disengagement and hands you a strike if the car detects an Autopilot cheat device is being used when FSD Beta is engaged. These aftermarket weighted devices can be purchased and attached to the steering wheel to trick the system into thinking your hands are on the wheel.
Tesla started detecting these devices last month and now provides a warning on the screen when it happens if basic Autopilot is engaged, although the system doesn’t appear to be perfect yet and can give false positives according to some owners.
Hi @elonmusk and @Tesla I got kicked out from autopilot twice yesterday with this message and lost a couple of point on my Tesla insurance. I am not using any devices. Anyone else had this problem? pic.twitter.com/KhEBUiuVqs
— Walter Taieb (@waltertaieb) December 27, 2022
