Lifestyle
Tesla Full Self-Driving gives epileptic student hope for normalcy
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving and Autopilot capabilities aim to create a safer driving environment for everyone on the road. But for one college student, the option to have the functionality has given hope that traveling at her leisure could be possible one day, as her epilepsy has prohibited her from ever obtaining a driver’s license.
Lauren, a student at a Michigan college, shared her story on the r/TeslaMotors subreddit, stating that her first seizures came at an extremely young age. Because of her condition, the possibility of her ever driving became minimal, as the risk of spontaneous seizures impaired her ability to operate a vehicle safely.
“I had my first febrile seizure at five months old,” Lauren told Teslarati. “I have focal impaired epilepsy and absence seizures, so it went unnoticed until I was 17. My parents didn’t keep up with a neurologist.”
According to Epilepsy.com, Focal Impaired Awareness Seizures start in one area or side of the brain, and the person is not aware of their surroundings. These episodes last around 1 to 2 minutes typically, and include automatisms such as lip-smacking, fumbling, wandering, and grunting or moaning.
Lauren said another one of her symptoms included asking “weird, obvious questions.” One time during an episode, Lauren “asked her boyfriend who he was and where she was when they were at his apartment.” Along with the Focal Impaired Awareness Seizures, Lauren also has experienced Nocturnal Seizures, which occurred once a week.
Laws in most states allow drivers with epilepsy to obtain a license without much of an issue. WebMD stated that 700,000 drivers in the United States have a license, but it all depends on the type and frequency of the seizures.
Lauren has not been able to obtain a license because of her types of seizures. Effectively losing the ability to focus on surroundings would create a dangerous driving environment for everyone on the road, which has been Lauren’s main issue in her quest to drive a car. In her home state of Michigan, Neurologists are not required to disclose information to the DMV about an epileptic condition. Still, she believes cars with FSD capabilities would significantly improve her chances of driving a car herself.
For her, it would make life convenient and more affordable. “I’m looking forward to lowering my weekly Uber cost, being able to go grocery shopping without having to worry about running out of food, and being able to go to therapy.”
A sense of normalcy in terms of traveling would provide Lauren the opportunity to be less dependent on others when performing regular, everyday tasks, and she believes Tesla is onto something with FSD.
She admits that at first, she was convinced she would never be able to afford one. “I always thought that they were out of my price range due to David Dobrik having one.” However, she looked into the Model 3 and found out that the car is affordable, which gives her hope.
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But for Lauren, FSD wouldn’t just change her life, but it would revolutionize driving and travel for those who suffer from similar conditions. “I just think more people would be able to drive and safely drive.”
Ultimately, Tesla FSD and fully-autonomous capabilities are a few years away. CEO Elon Musk has hinted in the past that Level 5 Autonomy is at least a few years away, but he is confident it will eventually be available for Tesla owners to take advantage of to make driving a routine way of life.
Lifestyle
Tesla teases “Halloween Mode” update with Optimus rising from a graveyard
Tesla’s Halloween teaser hides a covered vehicle and an Optimus hand rising from the ground.
Tesla has started teasing a Halloween software update for its vehicles, with a short clip on X that reads, “Halloween is coming.” The clip opens on a glowing pumpkin before pulling back to the car’s center touchscreen, where the usual parked visualization has been replaced by a graveyard scene, and the vehicle draped with a white sheet so it reads as a cartoon ghost.
Halloween is coming pic.twitter.com/lM3ASUeOqX
— Tesla (@Tesla) October 1, 2026
The second detail is a robotic hand clawing its way out of the dirt like a zombie, which looks to be the hand of Tesla’s latest Optimus V3 humanoid robot. While Tesla still has not formally shown Optimus Gen 3 walking around in service, renders pulled from Tesla’s Android app last month gave the clearest look yet, including far more refined hands that Tesla has said carry 22 degrees of freedom. The hand has been the hardest part of the program. Musk has called it the majority of the robot’s engineering difficulty, and Tesla’s patents describe a design driven by tendons with the actuators moved into the forearm.
Tesla Optimus V3 hand and arm details revealed in new patents
Optimus also has a Halloween track record. Last October the robot handed out candy in Times Square, and a costumed “zombie” Optimus shuffled around the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles on Halloween night.
On the software side, Tesla’s 2025 Holiday Update expanded Santa Mode with a Santa sleigh, snowmen, snow effects, and a festive lock chime, so it wouldn’t be too far fetched if we saw something similar but themed for a Halloween Mode.
Lifestyle
Tesla’s newest feature lets you floor it out of a Supercharger while plugged in
Tesla’s new Emergency Drive Away feature lets owners flee a Supercharger while still plugged in.
Tesla has given drivers a way to escape while a vehicle is plugged-in at a Supercharger, in the event of an emergency. The company’s charging team announced a new feature on X called Emergency Drive Away, which lets a driver shift into Drive and pull away while the charging cable is still connected to the car.
Until now, a Tesla would not leave Park with a charge cable plugged in. Drivers had to release the latch from the touchscreen, the Tesla app, or the button on the charge handle, then wait for the port to let go. Emergency Drive Away removes that lockout, but Tesla is clear that it comes at a cost. “Use of this feature will damage your vehicle and the Supercharger,” the company wrote, adding that the function is meant for emergencies only and that deliberate misuse will lead to “additional penalties.” Tesla did not say what those penalties are.
Emergency Drive Away lets you shift into Drive while still plugged into a Supercharger pic.twitter.com/40GSzyP4lG
— Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) October 1, 2026
The in-car prompt is just as direct, with the warning reading: “Driving with the cable connected will cause damage to your vehicle and the Supercharger. Short camera recordings will be shared with Tesla.” That footage gives Tesla a way to separate a real emergency from someone who simply did not want to wait for the latch.
The feature requires software update 2026.38.3, and Tesla said in replies to owners that it works at every Supercharger in the United States without new stall hardware. Model S and Model X vehicles built before 2021 are not supported, and the company says the feature applies to U.S. Superchargers “for now,” leaving Canada and other markets out at launch.
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Tesla did not tie the announcement to any specific event, but it arrives two months after a gunman opened fire at an In-N-Out in Twin Falls, Idaho, on August 1, targeting three people in two Teslas at the neighboring Supercharger. One of them, a 66 year old man from Salt Lake City, was killed. Superchargers have been the scene of violence before, including a fatal shooting at a station near Denver in 2023.
In the weeks after Twin Falls, owners pushed Tesla for a native way to escape a stall, and many pointed back to EVject, the aftermarket breakaway connector Tesla sued in 2024 over claims it lacked overtemperature protection. The two companies later reached an agreement that led EVject to recall its earlier connectors in favor of a version with thermal sensors.
Our mission has always been about providing peace of mind and eliminating sitting duck scenarios.
We patented the built-in breakaway charger tip on Feb 15, 2023. Awarded Jan 30, 2024. Then shared the designs with @TeslaCharging
Thank you @Tesla for rolling out a solution. This… https://t.co/djOzswLw9N
— EVject (@EVject) October 2, 2026
Tesla’s Automatic Collision Evasion feature can be seen in one of the first owner videos of it in action.
Tesla owner Spencer (@scotsrule08) posted on Monday that the feature “worked flawlessly,” saying FSD reengaged itself just as he was about to hit a curb. Ashok Elluswamy, who leads Tesla’s AI team, shared the clip and wrote, “A guardian angel always looking out for you.”
The video arrives in the middle of a staged rollout. Tesla first shipped Automatic Collision Evasion with FSD (Supervised) v14.3.9 in software update 2026.27.6 earlier this month, which Teslarati covered as it reached cars. Update 2026.27.10, which began going out on September 19, carried the feature improvements with FSD v14.3.10, according to release notes tracked by Not a Tesla App. The newer 2026.27.11 build is now reaching another wave of vehicles.
The new Automatic Collision Evasion feature worked flawlessly! FSD reengaged itself just as I was about to hit a curb.
Kudos @Tesla_AI team! 👏 pic.twitter.com/Fbp15HhpL2
— Spencer (@scotsrule08) September 28, 2026
The feature only runs on HW4 vehicles, and it requires an active FSD purchase or subscription with both FSD (Supervised) and Automatic Emergency Braking enabled. HW3 owners receive FSD v14.2 Lite in the same updates, but that build does not include collision evasion.
Tesla’s release notes describe two triggers. The first is an imminent frontal collision that braking alone may not prevent, in which case the car can activate FSD to steer, brake or accelerate around the hazard. That scenario is limited to highways below 85 mph, with no pedestrians or cyclists detected and no slippery road surface. The second covers a driver who appears inattentive, such as reaching into the back seat, or who seems to have switched off FSD by accident. Spencer’s curb clip appears to fall into that second category.
Tesla plans big safety improvements for Full Self-Driving v15
Once the system takes over, the accelerator is muted and light brake input will not cancel the maneuver. Drivers need to apply firm, deliberate steering force to take back control, and the car chimes to hand control back once the danger has passed.
Elluswamy recently noted that earlier hazard prediction, faster reaction time and better collision avoidance would arrive with FSD v15, the next major version.
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