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Tesla MIT study concludes that drivers maintain vigilance when using Autopilot
Tesla owners using Autopilot are highly engaged when driving with the feature despite fears to the contrary, according to a study recently published by scientists at MIT titled Human Side of Tesla Autopilot: Exploration of Functional Vigilance in Real-World Human-Machine Collaboration.
The data used in the study was generated from the over 1 billion miles driven by Tesla owners since its activation in 2015, about 35% of which were determined to be assisted by Autopilot. Of these, 18,928 disengagements of Autopilot were annotated, which indicated instances when drivers took over during challenging driving situations. Overall, the numbers demonstrate a high rate of driver vigilance.
Tesla has provided a unique opportunity to form a baseline for objective, representative analysis of real-world use of Autopilot, as stated in the study:
“Due to its scale of deployment and individual utilization, [Tesla’s] Autopilot serves as perhaps the currently best available opportunity to study and understand human interaction with AI assisted vehicles ‘in the wild’…naturalistic driving research can now begin investigating and identify both promising and concerning trends in drivers’ behavioral patterns in the context of Autopilot.”
As automation has expanded over the last several decades, a pattern of overtrust in reliable automated systems has been shown by human behavior research studies. In the context of driving scenarios where property damage, injury, or death are possible consequences, the concern with the transition to semi-autonomous systems relying on driver input to function safely is obviously significant. The results of the MIT study are therefore promising, initially showing an approach to automation in driving systems that’s more careful than other areas.
“The two main results of this work are that (1) drivers elect to use Autopilot for a significant percent of their driven miles and (2) drivers do not appear to over-trust the system to a degree that results in significant functional vigilance degradation in their supervisory role of system operation,” the MIT scientists concluded.
The study further notes that more research will be needed as more data becomes available and more familiarity grows with Autopilot’s features.
Tesla has received a fair amount of criticism and attention whenever an accident involves one of its cars, especially if Autopilot was engaged around the time of the event. However, Tesla consistently maintains its position that the feature is not yet fully autonomous and requires drivers to both pay attention and intervene when necessary while Autopilot is in operation. The program is additionally equipped with several alerts which give drivers audio and visual warnings if hands are not detected on the steering wheel, something found to have been ignored in some prior crash events, playing into concerns the MIT study sought to address.
Beginning in Q3 2018, Tesla has been releasing quarterly Vehicle Safety Reports providing updated numbers for vehicle incidents occurring both when Autopilot was engaged and when the driver-assist feature was deactivated. For Q3, the company reported one accident or crash-like event for every 3.34 million miles driven with Autopilot active and one event for every 1.92 million miles driven with Autopilot disengaged. In Q4 2018, those numbers dropped slightly, possibly due to winter conditions, to one accident for every 2.91 million miles driven with Autopilot engaged and one accident for every 1.58 million miles driven without.
By comparison, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) most recent data at the time showed a crash event every 436,000 miles, a figure which includes all vehicles in the US whether or not the cars are equipped with driving enhancement software. Tesla’s numbers further include both accidents that have occurred and “near-misses”, and the NHTSA’s figures only include accidents that actually transpired.
Along with touting a correlation between lower accident rates and Autopilot being engaged, Tesla also maintains its title of producing the safest cars in the world based on NHTSA test results.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s X sees outage on Monday as users report issues
Monday’s outage follows a similar issue that befell the social media platform in mid-January.
X experienced an outage on Monday morning, with tens of thousands of users reporting that the platform failed to load across both desktop and mobile. The disruption began around 8:02 a.m. ET, as per Downdetector data, and quickly escalated in the U.S. and U.K.
Monday’s outage follows a similar issue that befell the social media platform in mid-January.
Shortly after 8 a.m. ET, Downdetector showed a sharp rise in incident reports. At one point, U.S. complaints exceeded 40,000, while U.K. reports climbed past 6,000. Earlier in the outage, filings had already crossed 11,000 in the U.S. and 3,300 in the U.K., as noted in a TechRadar report. X users in other locations, such as the Philippines and Costa Rica, also reported similar issues.
Users attempting to access X were met with a “something went wrong” message. Feeds did not refresh, posts failed to appear, and both the social media platform’s app and web versions appeared affected by the issue. The outage struck during peak weekday usage, amplifying its visibility across regions worldwide.
X has not issued an official explanation for the latest outage or confirmed what caused the service disruption. The scale of complaints drew comparisons to the platform’s major outage in November 2025, which resulted in users being met with “Internal server error / Error code 500” messages, as well as Cloudflare-related error notices.
The incident also comes just weeks after X experienced a similar downtime in mid-January. That outage seemed more notable, however, with more than 100,000 users reporting issues with the social media platform on Downdetector.
Elon Musk
New details emerge on The Boring Company’s Universal tunnel plans
The materials outline staffing, construction timelines, tunnel configuration, and operational details that were not previously public.
Newly released bidding documents have shed light on how Elon Musk’s Boring Company plans to connect Universal Orlando Resort’s north campus to Universal Epic Universe.
The materials outline staffing, construction timelines, tunnel configuration, and operational details that were not previously public about the planned Loop system.
The Shingle Creek Transit & Utility Community Development District voted Feb. 11 to begin contract negotiations with The Boring Company after ranking it the top bidder for the Universal Orlando transport project. Now, evaluation documents obtained by local news media reveal how the company intends to execute the project, according to Attraction Insight.
The proposal describes a twin-tunnel configuration, with one tunnel in each direction. It also noted that permitting, design, and construction could take roughly a year and a half once approvals are secured. The company indicated it could deploy multiple tunnel boring machines and install temporary support infrastructure, including muck storage pits and stormwater systems, during construction.
Bid documents list eight internal specialists assigned to the project, including tunnel engineers, structural engineers, and tunnel boring machine experts. Six subcontractors would handle fire protection, communications, soil treatment, and concrete work.
The company stated it “has the necessary internally produced tunneling equipment and personnel immediately available to complete this project for the district as quickly as permits and approvals can be obtained.”
Operationally, the system would mirror the company’s Las Vegas Loop model, using Tesla vehicles to provide point-to-point transport rather than fixed-route buses. The proposal frames the concept as “on-demand, express transportation,” with vehicles dispatched as needed and capacity adjustable in real time.
Stations could be built underground or above ground with ramp access into tunnels. The documents also referenced potential future integration of a configurable Robovan for passengers and cargo, though capacity projections for the Orlando tunnels have not yet been disclosed.
The proposal states that the Loop can integrate “easily into environmentally sensitive areas,” but it does not provide detailed mitigation plans for Central Florida’s high water table and limestone geology, which is susceptible to sinkholes. The company has stated that it intends to hire an Orlando-based geotechnical firm to evaluate soil conditions.
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Tesla Giga Berlin dispute against IG Metall union leads to investigation
As per a report from rbb24, police seized a laptop belonging to an IG Metall member at Tesla Giga Berlin on Tuesday afternoon.
German authorities have opened an investigation into an IG Metall union representative following allegations that a confidential works council meeting at Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin was secretly recorded. The probe follows a criminal complaint filed by Tesla management last week.
As per a report from rbb24, police seized a laptop belonging to an IG Metall member at Tesla Giga Berlin on Tuesday afternoon. Prosecutors in Frankfurt (Oder) confirmed that an investigation is underway into a possible unauthorized audio recording of an internal works council meeting.
Under German law, recording a non-public meeting without consent may constitute a criminal offense.
Tesla stated that Gigafactory Berlin employees alerted management after allegedly discovering that an external union representative, who was attending the event as a guest, had recorded the session. Plant manager André Thierig stated in a post on X that the representative was “caught in action,” prompting the company to contact police and file a criminal complaint.
The seized device is now part of the investigation, and authorities will determine whether any unlawful recording had indeed occurred.
IG Metall has denied the accusation. In comments to German media, representatives rejected Tesla’s claim and described the electric vehicle maker’s allegation as an election campaign tactic ahead of upcoming works council elections.
The election at Tesla’s Grünheide plant is scheduled for March 2–4, 2026, with about 11,000 employees being eligible to vote. Regular works council elections in Germany are held every four years between March and May.
The incident comes amid tensions between Tesla and organized labor in Germany. While works councils operate independently from unions, IG Metall has been active at the plant and has previously criticized Tesla’s labor practices. Authorities, for their part, have not yet announced whether charges will be filed, though the investigation remains ongoing.
Elon Musk’s X sees outage on Monday as users report issues
New details emerge on The Boring Company’s Universal tunnel plans
