Tesla's Full Self-Driving Beta Now Requires Drivers to Accept Being Recorded

author: Vineeth Joel Patel   

Long before Tesla introduced its Full Self-Driving Beta system, videos and pictures of owners abusing the brand's Autopilot system surfaced. Peopled climbed into the back seats and slept while the Tesla handled a lot of the driving on the highway. Others showed people taking quick naps from the driver's seat or fully vacating the driver's seat and sitting in the passenger's seat. Despite the fatal accidents and obvious common sense that letting a vehicle that doesn't drive on its own to let it drive on its own is a bad idea, people continue to abuse Autopilot.

Tesla Drivers Will Be Watched

While Autopilot wasn't meant to be a fully autonomous system, Tesla's Full Self-Driving Capability system is meant to make the vehicle do everything it needs to without a human driver. At least that's the idea when Tesla is done expanding on the system and adding new features. Before it makes Full Self-Driving Capability available to everyone, Tesla's letting Full Self-Driving beta testers get an idea of how the system will work and to help it get crucial data on things it needs to improve and how users use the system.

Beta testers that plan to use the Full Self-Driving system will find an updated terms of agreement for Full Self-Driving usage that requires them to opt in to sharing video, reports Electrek. The outlet claims that the automaker will now have access to footage from inside and outside the electric car. Tesla won't be keeping a watchful eye on Tesla owners all the time. Instead, the brand will use the video in case the vehicle is involved in an accident or if there's a safety risk.

The new portion of the agreement states, "By enabling FSD Beta, I consent to Tesla's collection of VIN-associated image data from the vehicle's external cameras and Cabin Camera in the occurrence of a serious safety risk or a safety event like a collision."

Why Make Changes Now?

Since Tesla doesn't have a public relations department, we probably won't get any information on why Tesla made the change. We don't think we'll get more information from the automaker on how the data will be used, either. The system is probably being used as a way for Tesla to save itself in the case of user error.

Tesla has previously gathered footage from its electric cars before. Previously, any footage the automaker received was anonymous and not tied to any specific car. This time around, that changes, as new footage it receives is tied to a vehicle's VIN.

Full Self-Driving Capability continues to be available for an additional $10,000 at the time of purchase. The beta is only available to Tesla drivers that have a score of at least 98/100 on Tesla's safety metric, though drivers claim that it's easy to score highly.

Vineeth Joel Patel

Joel Patel has been covering all aspects of the automotive industry for four years as an editor and freelance writer for various websites. When it comes to cars, he enjoys covering the merger between technology and cars. In his spare time, Joel likes to watch baseball, work on his car, and try new foods