Lifestyle
Tesla owner claims $10k Full Self-Driving purchase was made by infant who had her phone
A Tesla owner is claiming that her 10-month-old infant purchased the company’s Full Self-Driving suite on accident, and she didn’t realize until she checked her monthly bank statement. The woman claims that the child got ahold of her phone and purchased the semi-autonomous driving suite by accessing the Tesla Smartphone application. The purchase is non-refundable after 48 hours, which has already elapsed.
The woman posted her story on the social media outlet TikTok, with the on-screen text stating, “When your 10-month-old purchases the full self-driving package through the Tesla app.” It then says, “And you didn’t know until you checked the bank statement and you find out that this is NON-refundable 48 hours after purchase.”
The woman then provided a screenshot of the receipt on the Tesla application, with concerns as to why there are not extra measures to prevent accidents like this from happening.
Comments on the video were humorous, and many users of the app who chimed in stated they thought it was a far-fetched scenario that a baby could purchase the FSD suite. One of the best comments referred to a potential conversation between the Mother and Father, where they weighed the pros and cons of purchasing the $10,000 Full Self-Driving suite. “He said he heard y’all weighing the pros and cons, but at the end of the day, HE is the decision-maker in this household,” one user said.
Newsweek originally reported the story.
Another user indicated they were skeptical of the story due to the amount of the purchase, which would have initiated a confirmation text or phone call from the bank that the Tesla owner uses. She responded to this claim in a follow-up TikTok, where she said, “The way Tesla works is, when you purchase a car, you will have an account with Tesla. So when you need to take your care to the service center to get anything repaired, they will have it all on file in your account. So you have a card, and bank account hooked up to your Tesla app. I mean, if you have a Tesla app, you can go and see for yourself. But it’s not a lie.”
Unfortunately for her, this is not the first time an accidental purchase has been made for one of the company’s upgrades that increases the performance or functionality of Tesla’s vehicles. For example, several Tesla owners complained of “buttdial” purchases several months ago, where the application was accessed while the owner was sitting on their phone. They would then pull their smartphones out to see that they had purchased any of Tesla’s in-app upgrades.
The complaint was confronted by Tesla in February 2020, when CEO Elon Musk stated that the company would address the issue as it was becoming a more popular shortcoming based on customer testimonies. As a result, Tesla implemented a 48-hour return window, where any of the in-app purchases, including Full Self-Driving, could be refunded in full as long as the request was made within 48 hours of the purchase.
Just saw this today. Tesla refunds in general should be easy to get electronically & certainly through customer service. Will he addressed.
— Elon Musk, the 2nd (@elonmusk) January 15, 2020
“For upgrades purchased from the Tesla app, you can request a refund from the Tesla app within 48 hours of purchase,” the company notes via its Upgrades page. “All refund conditions are available in your Tesla app.”
It seems far-fetched that someone would not notice a $10,000 purchase, nor would they realize their vehicle was now capable of Full Self-Driving. However, crazier things have happened in the world. Still, it will probably not result in a refund unless Tesla or Musk decides to refund the woman due to extreme circumstances. Regardless, the Model X owner seemed to be having fun with the Smart Summon feature, as it was being used in the TikTok.
The TikTok is available below.
@stayfitstaylitWell our son decided we needed the self driving package we debated on before ??? ##tesla ##teslaworld ##ohno ##foryou ##fyp♬ Oh No – Kreepa
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.
Tesla Supercharger argument leads to tragic shooting incident
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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