Tesla improves Service Mode with alert payload data

August 4, 2022

By Kevin Armstrong

Alerts in Tesla's Service Mode will contain additional details on what triggered the alert

@Greentheonly/Twitter

Most modern cars come with access to a Controller Area Network (CAN) that lets you access information about systems in the vehicle.

It's often used to help diagnose vehicle issues and find out if a certain part may need to be replaced.

Teslas, just like other vehicles will display critical alerts or warnings on the screen based on CAN data.

The warnings can be as simple as being low on windshield wiper fluid. They could also alert you of critical issues such as airbag errors or heat pump issues.

Service Mode

For owners or shops who wish to troubleshoot or repair their vehicles, Tesla also includes a Service Mode.

Service Mode gives you access to more details about any alerts the vehicle has shown, as well as letting you reset certain systems.

Not every vehicle alert is customer-facing, meaning that some alerts only show up in Service Mode. These alerts could be temporary warnings without any customer impact, so they're of limited use to the vehicle owner, but they could be useful to a technician diagnosing an issue.

Although Service Mode displays additional details about vehicle alerts, they've also been somewhat limited.

Alerts are triggered based on certain readings from the vehicle's CAN, which provides real-time information on a slew of vehicle systems and any errors they report.

If the vehicle detects a high temperature or low voltage in a given system, it may trigger an alert. The user may see an alert such 'X system not available', although usually the reason is omitted.

In Service Mode, some additional information may be shown about a given alert, such as why it was triggered, such as due to low voltage.

However, up until now the additional information provided in the alert in Service Mode has been somewhat limited.

Alert Payload

In a recent update, Tesla has added individual CAN readings to the alert, known as the alert payload, or crack data. Instead of seeing a simple 'low voltage detected' message, technicians or DIY owners can now see the exact value of the voltage when the alert was triggered.

Twitter user @greentheonly shared this news on Twitter, showing a screenshot that shows the plethora of information that is now available to Model S and X owners. Model 3 and Model Y owners do not yet have access to this data, but it's reportedly coming soon in a future update.

Adding alert payload data to Service Mode is a significant shift, as Tesla kept this information close to the chest and encouraged owners to take their vehicles to Tesla service centers. However, with this kind of information now available, third-party electric vehicle shops will have the data to fix Teslas. Not only shops but do-it-yourself types will also have access to the same information previously available to the technical support team.

That said, it’s important to note that Tesla’s warranty can be voided “due to improper maintenance, service or repairs.” The warranty paperwork, which you should read before ever tinkering with a Tesla, or any expensive item, clearly detailed how the company “strongly recommends that you have all maintenance, service and repairs done at a Tesla Service Center or Tesla authorized repair facility in order to avoid voiding or having coverage excluded under this New Vehicle Limited Warranty.”

@greentheonly’s tweet got a lot of attention. In a follow-up tweet, the user tells readers to enter service mode, and the information can be found in the service mode menu. The tweet is accompanied by a short video showing how to get to service mode. The screenshot shows active alerts with drop-down menus that provide more details.

Reddit comments were supportive of having more information. One poster said: “After they made the service manuals free, I’ve found I can do literally whatever I’d like! I no longer need service to answer questions about parts, processes, or fixes. Just look it up in the manual!”

While another, clearly a DIYer, posted, “This pleases me. Hopefully, between this and the free service manual online, most repairs should be able to be done at home.”

But another commenter believes Tesla is still holding too much back, “Now give us gateway config tasks on the toolbox, and we'll actually be able to make meaningful changes to our car.”

Keep in mind that Service Mode is aimed at technicians and is not meant to be accessed by customers. The information displayed is not consumer friendly and will often require some vehicle knowledge to be useful.

Service mode will also disable various safety systems while in use, and it is not recommended to be accessed by customers.

You Can Now Track Tesla’s Robotaxi Deployment

June 15, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Thanks to Tesla Yoda on X, we have found out that Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet is registered on the Texas Department of Transportation’s public-facing Automated Vehicle Deployment website. This makes the fleet’s movements publicly viewable and trackable, and marks a first for Tesla.

This isn’t just any old FSD test - this is the first officially acknowledged, government-tracked, and sanctioned deployment of a Tesla Model Y operating as a ride-share vehicle. But that’s not all - Texas DOT’s tracker notes that the Tesla does not have a safety driver.

View on the Map

Visitors to the Texas DOT website can filter for “Tesla”, and see, currently, a single active vehicle operating in the Austin Metro area. According to the state’s official data, here’s what we know:

Company: Tesla

Description: Ride-share service

Status in Texas: Testing

Safety Driver: No

The final point is definitely the most significant here. While Tesla has been testing FSD with safety drivers for some time in Austin and LA for employee-only testing, this is the first time that a vehicle has been officially registered and deployed on public roads without a human behind the wheel for safety.

The fact that there is no safety driver officially shifts the liability from the occupant of the driver’s seat to Tesla, for the first time in a public setting. That’s already pretty significant - we previously dove into how Tesla plans to insure its own vehicles, and potentially owner vehicles in the Robotaxi fleets.

The status currently lists Tesla as “Testing,” confirming that the service isn’t available to the public, but this is expected to change in the coming weeks.

This testing phase is likely part of a short but crucial period that lets Tesla capture data on the safety levels of its current iteration of Unsupervised FSD without a driver supervising. Tesla already stated that they’d be avoiding difficult areas, so this testing can also expose additional areas Tesla may want to avoid, such as school zones or blind driveways.

Tesla will need to prove, both internally and externally, that FSD Unsupervised has the necessary performance to safely navigate the streets without any incidents.

Regulatory Milestone

For years, the concept of a Tesla Robotaxi has been a future promise. Now, it's a present-day reality, albeit in a testing capacity.

Having an official government body list a Tesla as an active, driverless vehicle shows that they’ve been able to clear regulatory hurdles, which Tesla has often pointed to as the issue. It demonstrates a level of confidence from both Tesla and Texas regulators in the system's capabilities.

While it's just a single vehicle for today, we’ll likely see this list slowly expand over time. Alongside being able to track Robotaxi incidents at the City of Austin’s website, we’ll be able to closely watch Tesla’s progress with its first Robotaxi deployments.

Tesla FSD in Europe: June Update

June 14, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

The road to bringing FSD to Europe has been a long and complex one and filled with regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles. Elon Musk, as well as other members of Tesla’s AI team, have previously voiced their grievances with the regulatory approval process on X.

However, it appears that there is finally some progress in getting things moving with recent changes to upcoming autonomy regulations, but the process still seems slow.

Waiting on the Dutch

Elon commented on X recently, stating that Tesla is waiting for approval from Dutch authorities and then the EU to start rolling out FSD in Europe. Tesla is focusing on acquiring approvals from the Dutch transportation authority, which will provide them with the platform they need to gain broader acceptance in Europe. Outside of the Netherlands, Tesla is also conducting testing in Norway, which provides a couple of avenues for them to obtain national-level approval.

The frustration has been ongoing, with multiple committee meetings bringing up autonomy regulation but always pulling back at the last second before approving anything. The last meeting on Regulation 157, which governs Automated Lane Keeping Systems, concluded with authorities from the UK and Spain requesting additional time to analyze the data before reaching a conclusion.

Tesla, as well as Elon, have motioned several times for owners to reach out to their elected representatives to move the process forward, as it seems that Tesla’s own efforts are being stymied.

This can seem odd, especially since Tesla has previously demoed FSD working exceptionally smoothly on European roads - and just did it again in Rome when they shared the video below on X.

FSD Supervised testing in Rome, Italy

Pending regulatory approval pic.twitter.com/TXh3uQIfrx
— Tesla Europe & Middle East (@teslaeurope) June 12, 2025

DCAS Phase 3

While the approval process has been slow, Kees Roelandschap pointed out that there may be a different regulatory step that could allow FSD to gain a foothold in Europe.

According to Kees, the European Commission is now taking a new approach to approving ADAS systems under the new DCAS Phase 3 regulations. The Commission is now seeking data from systems currently operational in the United States that can perform System-Initiated Maneuvers and don’t require hands-on intervention for every request.

This is key because those are two of the core functionalities that make FSD so usable, and it also means that there may not be a need to wait years for proper regulations to be written from scratch. Now, the Commission will be looking at real-world data based on existing, deployed technology, which could speed up the process immensely.

What This Means

This new, data-driven regulatory approach could be the path for Tesla to reach its previous target of September for European FSD. While the cogs of bureaucracy are ever slow, sometimes all it takes is a little data to have them turn a bit faster in this case.

Alongside specific countries granting approval for limited field testing with employees, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for FSD in Europe, and hopes are that a release will occur by the end of 2025. With Europe now looking to North America for how FSD is performing, Tesla’s Robotaxi results could also play a role.