Tesla adds Driver Monitoring System, DMS to Model 3 and Model Y cars with a cabin camera

Tesla Autopilot has always required and will require full driver attention for the foreseeable future. Tesla enforced this by detecting whether torque was being applied to the steering wheel.

Tesla has relied on this method since the introduction of Autopilot, but unfortunately there have been several flaws with it for years.

Since Tesla is looking for a certain amount of force to be applied to the steering wheel, sometimes the car can ask for the driver’s attention even when the driver is attentive and their hands are on the steering wheel. The interval that the car checks for active participation has changed over the years, but with it being somewhere around 30-60 seconds, it can sometimes become an annoyance to drivers.

The second reason that detecting torque on the steering wheel doesn’t work well as a driver monitoring system is that it is easily defeated. There have been numerous devices that mimic the force of hands on the steering wheel and let's face it, it doesn’t lead to anything good for the driver or Tesla.

Yesterday we saw the first vehicles to introduce a true driver monitoring system. For vehicles with a cabin camera, which include all Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, Tesla will be able to turn on their camera-based driver monitoring system (DMS). It appears that the feature is currently limited to the US and only for radar-less cars, but we expect this to change in the future. The release notes for 2021.4.15.11 state that:

Update: With the release of update 2021.32.5, Tesla has started to roll out driver monitoring to vehicles with radar as well. It is also expanding the feature to outside of the US.

The cabin camera above your rearview mirror can now detect and alert driver inattentiveness while Autopilot is engaged. Camera data does not leave the car itself, which means the system cannot save or transmit information unless data shared is enabled. To change your data settings, tap Controls > Safety & Security > Data Sharing on your car's touchscreen.

Much like Tesla implements FSD, the cabin camera will be recording and analyzing the video stream and attempting to detect several objects and driver attributes. Each attribute then gets a probability assigned to it. If the threshold is high enough for any given attribute that Tesla deems as the driver not paying attention, then the car can take additional action from there such as turn off Autopilot, pull over or ask the driver to pay attention.

According to GreenTheOnly on Twitter, the camera will be detecting whether the driver is looking down or to the side and tracking eye movement and detecting other things as well such as whether the driver is wearing sunglasses and how well the camera can see. Although Tesla is looking for a variety of distractions, it looks like they are only currently triggering alerts when the driver is on their phone and not looking at the road.

The first cars have started rolling out with this feature enabled and it hasn't replaced Tesla’s steering wheel torque detection, but is providing another layer of protection. We hope as Tesla expands its capability in the future it may one day replace having your hands on the Tesla wheel completely.

Tesla has also recently rolled out detecting whether there is a driver in the driver’s seat during the use of Autopilot. It’s possible Tesla will create an algorithm with all of these attributes and ultimately decide whether the driver is paying attention or not. This could greatly reduce the amount of times the driver is asked to pay attention when they already are and also increase safety by reminding us when we’re not.

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Tesla Builds Cybertruck Tunnel While Production Lines Pause [VIDEO]

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Tesla previously told its employees on the Cybertruck production line that work would be halted for three business days and that they would not be required to show up to Giga Texas for any other work. Work was halted on the Cybertruck line from December 3rd until December 6th.

Many speculated that Tesla had hit a demand mark with the Cybertruck or run into other production-related difficulties. However, pausing production for such a short period is a fairly normal business operation, as Tesla continuously retools and upgrades its production lines.

Halts for business demand tend to look more similar to Ford’s F-150 Lightning production halt - where they halted production from November 18, 2024, until January 6, 2025. Ford also announced that this production halt was due to reduced demand for its electric truck in the face of stiffer competition.

Cybertunnel

In this case, part of the reason for the halt could potentially have been due to upgrades to the underground tunnel that is used to move Cybertrucks fresh from the production line to the holding lot at Giga Texas. Tesla has been working on improving the production flow rate for its vehicle - and rather than encountering issues with production, they’ve previously mentioned they’ve had issues with getting vehicles out of their outbound parking lots and off their assembly lines - and into customers’ hands fast enough.

The Cybertunnel moves trucks from inside Giga Texas to the holding lot just outside the factory. At that holding lot, they’re either loaded into trains or trucks to be transported across North America. The tunnel passes underneath Texas Highway 130, helping to ensure that Tesla isn’t clogging up traffic crossing the highway with brand-new trucks.

More Shut Downs?

It’s likely we’ll see even more shutdowns at Giga Texas in the coming months. Tesla has shown that it intends to continue increasing production rates at Giga Texas, which means it will need time to upgrade its assembly lines and processes. In addition, the Model Y is also produced at Giga Texas—and once the Model Y Juniper arrives, there will need to be shutdowns to accommodate re-tooling.

So, no need to stress - it's just regular operations. And we get to see a cool Cyber-themed tunnel too. In the meantime, check out Joe Tegtmeyer’s drone video of Giga Texas below.

Giga Texas on this cold 6 December 2024 morning! Big news with the @boringcompany paving & tunnel covering structure on W side, new mystery construction on W side of GA, continued work on SW corner for tunnel alternate exit & production of both @cybertruck & Model Y today,… pic.twitter.com/94a894ix1I

— Joe Tegtmeyer 🚀 🤠🛸😎 (@JoeTegtmeyer) December 6, 2024

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Tesla to Introduce New Parking Options for FSD: Garages, Driveways, Parking Spots, and Pulling Over

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Tesla’s FSD V13 introduced a host of new features, including the ability to Unpark itself, travel in reverse, and Park at its destination. While FSD can now navigate itself out of a parking spot or garage, there are limited options when arriving at your destination, but that’s about to change.

Garage Support

Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s VP of AI, confirmed on X that a future revision of FSD V13 will introduce a variety of parking options, including parking in garages, driveways, parking spots, or simply pulling over on the side of the road. Drivers will presumably be able to pick when choosing a location, or maybe the vehicle will offer suggestions based on the location.

This will be a big addition, as today, FSD doesn’t understand how to park in a garage or driveway. Some owners trick FSD into parking in their driveway by using tape or road paint to outline parking spots.

Soon, that may not be necessary, and instead, FSD will simply back itself into your garage. This feature will probably work best in larger garages—extremely tight garages may not work, given the reduced precision of vision at extremely close distances.

We hope that if Tesla introduces this feature, they’ll sell printable guides you can stick on the garage walls or floor to help ensure your vehicle is in the perfect spot every time. Many commenters mentioned that they park in urban/suburban garages with only inches to spare around their vehicles, so this will be an interesting challenge for Tesla to address.

Parking Garages

Parking garages offer their own unique problem set. For the most part, FSD can already navigate its way out of a parking garage, assuming that there aren’t any special gates or sequenced/signaled signage.

It is also able to find a parking spot in multi-level garages and navigate its way out. More support for multi-level parking garages is coming, as FSD seems to stick to the garage walls until it can find the exit itself. It seems that Tesla’s data gathering and vehicle-to-fleet communication could aid Tesla in figuring out parking garages in terms of knowing the entrances and exits.

FSD 13.2 enters a parking garage. I then park it on the second floor and it escapes the parking garage. I then park it on the snow covered roof and... pic.twitter.com/GxfsldfkUz

— Dirty Tesla (@DirtyTesLa) December 4, 2024

Other Destination Options

In the Upcoming Improvements section of FSD V13, Tesla mentions that more destination options will be supported, including pulling over (at the side of the road) and parking in a spot, driveway, or garage.

These other destination options are going to be important soon - because one of the biggest FSD features we’re all still waiting for is Banish AutoPark. Once your vehicle can pull over at the entrance of a location and then go park itself, we’re going to be super close to Unsupervised FSD becoming a reality.

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