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Tesla Model S owner reminds us of ‘Active Hood’ pedestrian safety feature

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A relatively unknown Tesla safety feature called ‘Active Hood’, designed to reduce head injuries to pedestrians in the event of a frontal collision, was brought to light in a recent Model S owner’s video that attempts to capture Tesla’s Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) in action. Active Hood which exists on European and Australian Model S vehicles uses pyrotechnics to raise the rear of the hood by several inches in order to soften the impact of a pedestrian and cyclist against a windshield during frontal impact.

Model S owner and Tesla Motors Club forum member Carspotter Daily posted a video that attempts to simulate a vehicle-pedestrian interaction. The vehicle was a first generation Autopilot vehicle under Firmware 8.0. It’s unclear whether CarSpotter was intentionally trying to trigger Tesla’s Active Hood feature or whether they were looking to test the AEB system, but despite not being able to trigger either feature the end result revealed, once again, Autopilot’s ability to detect humans. Another Tesla owner YouTuber KmanAuto first detected the pedestrian alert last November when he put a friend in front of of his moving Model S.

This type of granular detection of objects allows the vehicle to respond to potential collisions in the most appropriate way, with the objective to reduce collisions entirely. Though Active Hood was mentioned in the trailing notes at the end of the recent video, it’s not clear if the vehicle used in the video is a U.S. spec Model S or a European/Australian version that was included with that safety feature.

ALSO SEE: DIY Tesla Model S Pedestrian Alert: ‘Horn’ for the Oblivious

Active Hood is not a new feature but the fact that it has only been implemented on Tesla vehicles in select markets that mandate the technology has kept it largely under the radar. The technology was built into Tesla vehicles to comply with Euro NCAP Pedestrian Safety requirements that mandate vehicle manufacturers to maintain clearances between the hood and structural components underneath, to protect pedestrians in the event of a low to medium speed collision. These accidents often prove fatal to the pedestrian, as collisions at low to medium speeds typically cause the pedestrian’s body to fold over the hood with the head hitting the windshield.

The system was put to use in real world conditions in Australia in 2015 when someone driving a Tesla Model S collided with a kangaroo which caused the system to deploy. From what they saw after the accident, it looked like the adolescent ‘roo had a broken leg but was conscious enough after the accident to limp away which seems to indicate that it was successful in preventing immediate head trauma.

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Tesla had a special challenge when designing Active Hood since the front trunk of a Model S is sealed to keep water out whereas hoods to internal combustion engine vehicles  are generally vented. US Patent Application US20130076076 A1 details the specific challenges and solutions developed to allow the hood to pop up in response to an imminent collision with a pedestrian.

The English European version of the Tesla Model S manual lays out the technology in a much more user friendly format:

Active Hood

Model S features a pyrotechnically-assisted pedestrian protection system that reduces head injuries to pedestrians and cyclists in a frontal collision. If the sensors in the front bumper detect an impact with a pedestrian when Model S is moving between 19 and 53 km/h, the rear portion of the hood automatically raises approximately 80 mm. This creates space between the relatively soft hood and the hard components beneath to absorb some of the impact energy in a collision.
Note: The pedestrian protection system relies on a series of sensors and algorithms to determine when Active Hood should deploy. Therefore, the system may not deploy in all collision or crash situations.
If Active Hood has been deployed, the instrument panel displays an alert and an audible chime sounds. Immediately take Model S to the nearest Tesla Service Center. Active Hood’s associated sensors and actuators must be serviced by Tesla whenever Active Hood has been deployed.
Warning: Deployment of Active Hood may cause the raised hood to partially obstruct driver vision. Driving a car with a deployed hood increases the risk of a collision. A car with a deployed hood should be immediately taken to the nearest Tesla Service Center.
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Warning: If the instrument panel displays an alert indicating that Active Hood has been deployed in situations where it has not, immediately drive Model S to the nearest Tesla Service Center.
Note: If damage occurs to the front bumper, contact Tesla for a list of Tesla-approved body shops in your area. Tesla approves specific body shops to ensure they meet strict requirements for training, equipment, quality, and customer satisfaction.

With Active Hood technology only existing on vehicles destined for the European and Australian markets, and Tesla being so aggressive about implementing safety features, the natural question is “why hasn’t Tesla made this a standard global safety feature?” An early Euro NCAP crash test video showed that Tesla began working hard at doing everything it can to avoid the accident in the first place. After all, avoiding a collision in the first place is far better for all parties involved than just mitigating what happens afterwards.

I'm passionate about clean technology, sustainability and life. I've worked in manufacturing, IT, project management and environmental...and enjoy unpacking complex topics in layman's terms. TSLA investor. Find more of my words on my website or follow me on Twitter for all the latest. Tesla Referral link: http://ts.la/kyle623

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Elon Musk

How to use Grok Bot to block spam calls and texts

Musk told users to ask Grok Bot to scrub their phone numbers from spam lists.

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Elon Musk has a new use case for Grok Bot, and it is the spam call. On Thursday he replied to an X user named Arash with a short instruction: “Ask your @Grok @Bot to remove your phone number from spam call & text lists!” Arash had said he got tired of the calls, had an AI bot find his number on listing sites and file removal requests, and packaged the process as a free skill for others.

The skill is called Spam-Call Scrubber, which is described to find a phone number on people search sites and data brokers, submits the opt outs, completes the confirmation emails those sites send back, and rechecks on a schedule the user picks. Using it requires the Grok Bot app. The pitch is time saved, since most broker opt outs sit behind separate forms on separate sites.



Musk said Grok Bot now gives each bot its own email address, and that it can detect scam emails. On Thursday he also said SpaceX would make users whole if the bot botches a purchase or leaks a card, then told users to shop away from Amazon after the retailer blocked the agent, as Teslarati reported. The terms of service we reviewed at the time put responsibility for what an agent does on the user.

For Tesla owners, Grok Bot is not just a phone app. Tesla brought Grok Bot into its vehicles on September 22, and we argued earlier this week that the Cybercab’s real advantage may be the errands it runs during a ride. Every Cybercab and the rest of the Model Y Robotaxi fleet has it enabled. The more routine tasks like this one become, the more a rider has reason to hand over something personal in the back seat.

The new Spam-Call Scrubber skill can be downloaded for free and works on sites that honor removal requests, while noting that listings can reappear, and illegal robocallers do not check any registry. Whether Spam-Call Scrubber cuts anyone’s call volume is something the first wave of users will find out, and Musk’s endorsement guarantees that wave is coming.

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Tesla’s flying Roadster just revealed something bigger than the car

Analysts say the Roadster demo puts a Tesla and SpaceX merger back on the table.

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Tesla’s new Roadster, upside down and trailing cold gas thruster smoke, flips over a lineup of Tesla vehicles at the Roadster unveiling near Waco, Texas on October 15, 2026. (Image: Tesla)
Tesla’s new Roadster, upside down and trailing cold gas thruster smoke, flips over a lineup of Tesla vehicles at the Roadster unveiling near Waco, Texas on October 15, 2026. (Image: Tesla)

The Roadster unveiling near Waco ended Thursday night, and by Friday morning much of the investor reaction had less to do with the car than with who owns the rocket technology inside it.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said the event “puts the Tesla/SpaceX relationship on the table in a tangible way,” pointing to the propulsion, pressure vessel and control hardware sitting on a Tesla product. Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management called the demo “a ridiculous display of engineering” with “no commercial value” beyond embarrassing traditional automakers, though he said it showed Musk wants the two companies together.

The more specific forecast came a day earlier from Barclays. Analyst Dan Levy told clients a deal could be announced before Tesla’s annual meeting, which must happen by December 6, and that an announcement in late October or early November could make shareholder approval harder. Barclays expects SpaceX to be the buyer in an all stock deal, with Tesla holders receiving SpaceX shares at a premium, based on market values of roughly $2.1 trillion for SpaceX and $1.5 trillion for Tesla. If nothing lands around the meeting, the bank still sees an announcement within 6 to 12 months.

The Roadster demo just added more weight to merger speculations. Tesla’s demo used cold gas thrusters and pressure tanks of the kind SpaceX uses on Falcon 9, and Musk described the car as a collaboration between Tesla and SpaceX engineers, as we mentioned in our breakdown of the three Roadster configurations.


Musk has not publicly addressed a deal since the event, as far as we have seen. His most direct answer remains the one he gave at the All In Summit, when he said that with so much collaboration, “who can imagine what action one might take” without ruling anything out. Ives has held to a 2027 timeline since his March note, and Musk pushed back on the China piece of the speculation when ARK floated a year end announcement in August.

The next test is Tesla’s third quarter earnings call on October 21. However, we recall in July that Musk told analysts, “we can’t talk about combining companies and that kind of thing on an earnings call,” so a clear answer wouldn’t be expected.

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How Tesla’s Roadster fan system and thrusters are built to dominate the corners

Tesla’s Roadster uses fans, active wings and cold gas thrusters to create grip at any speed.

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The Roadster’s rear wing, one of the aerodynamic elements Tesla pairs with a fan-based downforce system. (Image: Tesla)
The Roadster’s rear wing, one of the aerodynamic elements Tesla pairs with a fan-based downforce system. (Image: Tesla)

Tesla’s new Roadster is best known for flipping through the air in Texas, but the technology that matters most for a race track is the stuff that keeps it on the ground. Tesla’s Roadster page describes a multi-mode fan and ground sealing system that acts as a downforce generator, pulling air out from beneath the car. Tesla says it provides enough suction to hold the vehicle upside down, even when stationary.

That is the key difference from the wings and diffusers on a normal supercar. Conventional aero only makes downforce when the car is moving, and it grows with speed, so a car has the least grip in the slow corners and under hard braking. A fan system makes downforce at any speed. Tesla’s patent, which we covered last year, describes fans and deployable skirts that create sealed or partially sealed regions under the car, with the fans extracting air to lower the pressure and increase grip and stability.


Tesla pairs that with active wings, a next generation steer by wire system and a Track Mode that lowers the car and changes the suspension, with high downforce and low drag settings for the circuit. To keep weight down, Tesla points to magnesium, titanium and carbon fiber, manual controls and a fixed seat position, which it says lets the car respond to driver inputs almost instantly.

Tesla Roadster: Three configs, one can fly, 0-60 in 0.8 seconds

The cold gas thrusters are the other half. On the Thrust version they sit at the rear and Tesla says they take the car from 0 to 60 mph in under 0.9 seconds, while the Rocket version adds perimeter thrusters for forward, upward and lateral rotational movement. Tesla says the all electric actuators make micro adjustments within a fraction of a second.

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Musk has been talking about records for years. In June 2019 he said, “We’re going to do things with the new Roadster that are kind of unfair to other cars.” That September, when a follower asked whether the Roadster would beat the Nürburgring production car record, he replied with one word, “Absolutely,” as we reported at the time. In February 2024 he said Tesla had “radically increased the design goals” for the car and that its sub one second 0 to 60 time would be “the least interesting part.”

There are caveats. Tesla has not published a lap time or a verified cornering figure, so the record talk is still a promise rather than a result. Tesla also says the car is not approved for public road use, and the thruster features are limited to the Rocket trim, which is invite only. Fan cars have also been banned or withdrawn before, and getting a sealed underbody to work on a rough public road is a harder problem than on a smooth track. The first real test will be an official lap at a circuit.

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