Overview
- Multiple outlets reported viral footage and sales listings this week showing small plastic or celebrity figurine heads placed near the rearview mirror to block Tesla’s cabin camera and register as a watching driver.
- Sellers on Chinese platforms list the devices for roughly $10 to $50 and offer variations that mount to the windshield or headrest, with some products playing looping video of a face to mimic eye movement.
- Owners say the trick can suppress Tesla’s attention alerts during Autopilot and Full Self‑Driving (Supervised) use, with one reported trip lasting about 30 minutes before any warning appeared.
- The tactic deepens scrutiny of Tesla as U.S. safety regulators have escalated their FSD probe to an engineering analysis covering 3.2 million vehicles and 10 Chinese owners have filed a fraud suit over FSD claims.
- Safety advocates and reporters say this episode highlights a recurring arms race: simple physical spoofs defeat torque and camera checks, suggesting manufacturers need stronger liveness detection and new hardware to enforce required human supervision.