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Tesla's Autopilot Update Gets Upset When You Disobey It, Video Shows

Tesla’s Autopilot may not have a sassy character like Apple’s Siri, but it will punish you worse than your iPhone’s virtual assistant would ever dream.
Gauge cluster of Tesla Model S on Autopilot with 8.0 Software update 9 photos
Photo: Screenshot from YouTube
Gauge cluster of Tesla Model S on Autopilot with 8.0 Software updateGauge cluster of Tesla Model S on Autopilot with 8.0 Software updateGauge cluster of Tesla Model S on Autopilot with 8.0 Software updateGauge cluster of Tesla Model S on Autopilot with 8.0 Software updateGauge cluster of Tesla Model S on Autopilot with 8.0 Software updateGauge cluster of Tesla Model S on Autopilot with 8.0 Software updateGauge cluster of Tesla Model S on Autopilot with 8.0 Software updateGauge cluster of Tesla Model S on Autopilot with 8.0 Software update
The latest update made to the Tesla OS, which has reached version 8.0, involves multiple changes to the Autopilot system. Among them is a clear focus on keeping at least one hand on the steering wheel at all times.

The driver can let go for a couple of seconds, but if certain factors come into play, the Autopilot system will issue warnings, and it will slow the car down until hands are detected on the wheel.

If the driver makes the system repeat itself, and remove his or her hands again after being warned, the Autopilot system will disable the Autosteer function until the car is parked and driven again.

In other words, if you "upset" the Autopilot by not keeping at least one hand on the wheel (preferably two, for defensive driving purposes) it will make you steer the car just like on models without Autopilot.

Tesla has implemented these rules to curb distracted driving, and to prevent unfortunate and tragic incidents. A YouTube user named Black Tesla posted a video of the system in operation on their channel, and it was then picked up by Teslarati, a portal for fans and customers of the American electric car brand.

As you can see in the screengrab at the top of this article, when you upset the Autopilot system, it will show two red hands on the steering wheel. We appreciate the fact that the figures that depict the hands are placed at 9:15, the correct position of hand placement on a steering wheel of an automobile, even if the depiction is not perfect.

People working in the IT industry would call the restriction introduced by Tesla as a “lockout feature.” Similar restrictions are found in ATMs, which will block your credit or debit card if the PIN is entered mistakenly for a certain number of times in a row, but also for your SIM card, and even for your smartphone’s passcode.
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Editor's note: Never diss Autopilot, Siri, or Cortana. You have been warned.

About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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