A cottage industry has emerged on Chinese e-commerce platforms selling tiny plastic doll heads designed to trick Tesla’s cabin camera into thinking a driver is paying attention. The devices cost as little as $20 to $50.
The products — marketed as “travel companions” and “dashboard decorations” — represent the latest and most absurd escalation in the arms race between Tesla’s driver monitoring safeguards and people determined to defeat them. It’s also incredibly dangerous and irresponsible.
How the bypass works
Chinese Tesla drivers are mounting miniature celebrity figurine heads near the rearview mirror to fool the cabin-facing camera that monitors driver attention during Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving” (Supervised) use.
Tesla’s driver monitoring system uses the cabin camera to track head position and eye movement, ensuring drivers keep their eyes on the road. A strategically placed plastic head with forward-facing features apparently satisfies the system’s detection criteria.
