Police book 80 people for illegally activating Tesla’s Full Self-Driving mode
Seoul police say suspects used overseas or homemade devices to unlock Tesla’s Full Self-Driving feature, which is only authorized for use on about 20 percent of Teslas in Korea.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving feature in useSCREEN CAPTURE
Police booked 80 people for illegally activating Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature using unauthorized devices bought overseas or that they built themselves, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Tuesday.
The agency’s traffic crime investigation team booked the suspects on charges of violating the Motor Vehicle Management Act and seized 21 unauthorized activation devices. The suspects allegedly used devices bought in Europe, China and elsewhere, or devices they made themselves, to unlock the feature.
Police said such “jailbreaking,” forcibly removing software restrictions set by the manufacturer, threatens road safety, and pledged to take a firm stance against it.
One suspect bought a European-made activation device, connected it to the suspect’s own Tesla and used the self-driving feature without authorization, police said. Police added that the case confirmed the dangers of unauthorized devices.
“Safety risks were confirmed, including the possibility that FSD may fail to properly recognize driving conditions or operate differently from the driver’s intentions,” a police official said.
Another suspect, who works in the IT industry, reportedly built an activation device using information found on GitHub, a code-sharing platform for developers. The suspects also traded tips on online communities, sharing not only how to unlock FSD but also how to keep the activation from leaving records in their cars, police said.
In Korea, FSD is legally available only on U.S.-made Teslas such as the Model S, Model X and Cybertruck, because U.S.-built Tesla vehicles are exempt from Korean auto safety certification under the Korea-U.S. FTA. China-made models such as the Model 3 and Model Y have not passed Korea’s safety standards. Of the 229,311 Teslas on Korean roads as of August, just 47,458, or 20.7 percent, can legally use FSD, according to car market research firm Carisyou Data Lab.
A device seized by police that was used to activate Tesla's Full Self-Driving system without authorizationSEOUL METROPOLITAN POLICE AGENCY
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport asked police to investigate in April after finding signs of unauthorized FSD activation. The government considers the practice a violation of the Motor Vehicle Management Act’s ban on arbitrarily changing, installing, adding or deleting software that may affect the safe operation of a vehicle. Violators face up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won ($15,000).
“We are working closely with related agencies, including asking the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Korea Transportation Safety Authority for advice on technical matters such as changes to FSD’s functional structure,” a police official said. “We will continue to actively investigate illegal acts that threaten road safety.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
