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Tesla’s camera-based driver monitoring system triggers legal complaint in Illinois
Tesla has implemented a number of safety improvements for its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving suites over the years, and this includes updates to its driver monitoring systems (DMS). Last year, Tesla activated its camera-based driver monitoring system in Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, allowing the company to provide an extra layer of checks to determine if drivers were paying attention to the road while using Autopilot and FSD features. The function was later rolled out to the refreshed Model S and Model X as well.
While a camera-based DMS has evident advantages, a class action complaint has been proposed against Tesla in Illinois, with the Plaintiff claiming that the company’s in-cabin driver monitoring system violates the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The complaint was filed in an Illinois Circuit Court on March 11, 2022.
In the complaint’s introduction, the Plaintiff described how Tesla benefits from the data it collects from its fleet of vehicles. Following is a relevant section from the document.
“In an effort to facilitate its Autopilot features and help market its self-driving capability to boost sales, Defendant collects individuals’ biometrics in the form of their facial geometry so that it can verify and make sure that individuals are paying attention to the road while using its Autopilot advanced driver assistance system (“Autopilot”) and its premium Full Self Driving system (“FSD”).
“This is achieved through Tesla’s in-cabin camera located by the rearview mirror which extracts drivers’ biometric facial geometry that Defendant’s Autopilot uses to track their head positions and eye gazes to detect a driver’s inattentiveness. If the driver is inattentive, then the Autopilot function is disengaged and the driver must take over the steering function.”
Inasmuch as data from the in-cabin camera is being used for driver monitoring, the Plaintiff alleged that Tesla’s practices violate Illinois citizens’ statutorily protected privacy rights. This was discussed in the following section of the complaint.
“Facial geometry is a unique and permanent biometric identifier associated with each individual. The unauthorized handling of such sensitive information exposes consumers to serious and irreversible privacy risks. If for example, a database containing scans of face geometry or other sensitive biometric data is hacked, breached, or otherwise exposed, consumers cannot simply change their biometric identifiers like they could reset a password or cancel a credit card.
“Notwithstanding the clear and unequivocal requirements of the law, Defendant disregards Illinois citizens’ statutorily protected privacy rights and unlawfully collects, stores, and uses individuals’ biometrics without first obtaining those individuals’ informed written consent and without having any publicly available data retention policy that could inform them about the whereabouts of the facial biometric data Defendant gatherer as required by BIPA.”
Interestingly enough, the Plaintiff included an anecdote of Tesla’s camera-based DMS in action. Based on the incident outlined in the complaint, it appears that the Plaintiff was warned by his vehicle to keep his hands on the wheel. This is a critical safety check, especially as Tesla rolls out more advanced features of its Autopilot and FSD suite.
“In or about December 2021, Plaintiff was driving one of Defendant’s Model 3 cars in Illinois with Defendant’s Autopilot feature function engaged. Using its proprietary facial recognition technology, Defendant collected, stored, and analyzed Plaintiff’s facial geometry in order to be able to track his head and eye movements and make sure that he was attentive. Plaintiff experienced Defendant’s biometrically enabled technology first-hand as it continuously informed Plaintiff to put his hands back on the wheel whenever it detected him looking away from the road.”
The class action complaint seeks to collect statutory damages of $5,000 for every time Tesla willfully or recklessly violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. It also seeks to collect statutory damages of $1,000 for each negligent violation of the state’s BIPA. Tesla’s legal team, for its part, is yet to issue a response to the complaint.
Below is the class action complaint against Tesla’s camera-based driver monitoring system (as shared by Bloomberg Law).
Tesla Cabin Camera Lawsuit by Simon Alvarez on Scribd
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Elon Musk
Elon Musk hints Tesla investors will be rewarded heavily
“Hold onto your Tesla stock. It’s going to be worth a lot, I think. That’s my bet,” Musk said.
Elon Musk recently hinted that he believes Tesla investors will be rewarded heavily if they continue to hold onto their shares, and he reiterated that in a new interview that the company released on its social accounts this week.
Musk is one of the most successful CEOs in the modern era and has mammothed competitors on the Forbes Net Worth List over the past year as his holdings in his various companies have continued to swell.
Tesla investors, especially those who have been holding shares for several years, have also felt substantial gains in their portfolios. Over the past five years, the stock is up over 78 percent. Since February 2019, nearly seven years ago to the day, the stock is up over 1,800 percent.
Musk said in the interview:
“Hold onto your Tesla stock. It’s going to be worth a lot, I think. That’s my bet.”
Elon Musk in new interview: “Hold on to your $TSLA stock. It’s going to be worth a lot, I think. That’s my bet.” pic.twitter.com/cucirBuhq0
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) February 26, 2026
It’s no secret Musk has been extremely bullish on his own companies, but Tesla in particular, because it is publicly traded.
However, the company has so many amazing projects that have an opportunity to revolutionize their respective industries. There is certainly a path to major growth on Wall Street for Tesla through its various future projects, including Optimus, Cybercab, Semi, and Unsupervised FSD.
- Optimus (Tesla’s humanoid robot): Musk has discussed its potential for tasks like childcare, walking dogs, or assisting elderly parents, positioning it as a massive long-term driver of company value.
- Cybercab (Tesla’s robotaxi/autonomous ride-hailing vehicle): a fully autonomous vehicle geared specifically for Tesla’s ride-sharing ambitions.
- Semi (Tesla’s electric truck, with mentions of expansion, like in Europe): brings Tesla into the commercial logistics sector.
- Unsupervised FSD (Full Self-Driving software achieving full autonomy without human supervision): turns every Tesla owner’s vehicle into a fully-autonomous vehicle upon release
These projects specifically are some of the highest-growth pillars Tesla has ever attempted to develop, especially in Musk’s eyes, as he has said Optimus will be the best-selling product of all-time.
Many analysts agree, but the bullish ones, like Cathie Wood of ARK Invest, are perhaps the one who believes Tesla has incredible potential on Wall Street, predicting a $2,600 price target for 2030, but this is not even including Optimus.
She told Bloomberg last March that she believes that the project will present a potential additive if Tesla can scale faster than anticipated.
Cybertruck
Tesla drops latest hint that new Cybertruck trim is selling like hotcakes
According to Tesla’s Online Design Studio, the new All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck will now be delivered in April 2027. Earlier orders are still slated for early this Summer, but orders from here on forward are now officially pushed into next year:
Tesla’s new Cybertruck offering has had its delivery date pushed back once again. This is now the second time, and deliveries for the newest orders are now pushed well into 2027.
According to Tesla’s Online Design Studio, the new All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck will now be delivered in April 2027. Earlier orders are still slated for early this Summer, but orders from here on forward are now officially pushed into next year:
🚨 Tesla has updated the $59,990 Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD’s estimated delivery date to April 2027.
First deliveries are still slated for June, but if you order it now, you’ll be waiting over a year.
Demand appears to be off the charts for the new Cybertruck and consumers are… pic.twitter.com/raDCCeC0zP
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) February 26, 2026
Just three days ago, the initial delivery date of June 2026 was pushed back to early Fall, and now, that date has officially moved to April 2027.
The fact that Tesla has had to push back deliveries once again proves one of two things: either Tesla has slow production plans for the new Cybertruck trim, or demand is off the charts.
Judging by how Tesla is already planning to raise the price based on demand in just a few days, it seems like the company knows it is giving a tremendous deal on this spec of Cybertruck, and units are moving quickly.
That points more toward demand and not necessarily to slower production plans, but it is not confirmed.
Tesla Cybertruck’s newest trim will undergo massive change in ten days, Musk says
Tesla is set to hike the price on March 1, so tomorrow will be the final day to grab the new Cybertruck trim for just $59,990.
It features:
- Dual Motor AWD w/ est. 325 mi of range
- Powered tonneau cover
- Bed outlets (2x 120V + 1x 240V) & Powershare capability
- Coil springs w/ adaptive damping
- Heated first-row seats w/ textile material that is easy to clean
- Steer-by-wire & Four Wheel Steering
- 6’ x 4’ composite bed
- Towing capacity of up to 7,500 lbs
- Powered frunk
Interestingly, the price offering is fairly close to what Tesla unveiled back in late 2019.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk outlines plan for first Starship tower catch attempt
Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.
Elon Musk has clarified when SpaceX will first attempt to catch Starship’s upper stage with its launch tower. The CEO’s update provides the clearest teaser yet for the spacecraft’s recovery roadmap.
Musk shared the details in recent posts on X. In his initial post, Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.
“Starship V3 SN1 headed for ground tests. I am highly confident that the V3 design will achieve full reusability,” Musk wrote.
In a follow-up post, Musk addressed when SpaceX would attempt to catch the upper stage using the launch tower’s robotic arms.
“Should note that SpaceX will only try to catch the ship with the tower after two perfect soft landings in the ocean. The risk of the ship breaking up over land needs to be very low,” Musk clarified.
His remarks suggest that SpaceX is deliberately reducing risk before attempting a tower catch of Starship’s upper stage. Such a milestone would mark a major step towards the full reuse of the Starship system.
SpaceX is currently targeting the first Starship V3 flight of 2026 this coming March. The spacecraft’s V3 iteration is widely viewed as a key milestone in SpaceX’s long-term strategy to make Starship fully reusable.
Starship V3 features a number of key upgrades over its previous iterations. The vehicle is equipped with SpaceX’s Raptor V3 engines, which are designed to deliver significantly higher thrust than earlier versions while reducing cost and weight.
The V3 design is also expected to be optimized for manufacturability, a critical step if SpaceX intends to scale the spacecraft’s production toward frequent launches for Starlink, lunar missions, and eventually Mars.
Elon Musk hints Tesla investors will be rewarded heavily
Tesla drops latest hint that new Cybertruck trim is selling like hotcakes
