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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.
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Tesla extends FSD Supervised ride-alongs in Europe by three months
Needless to say, it does appear that FSD fever is starting to catch in Europe.
Tesla appears to be doubling down on its European Full Self-Driving (Supervised) push, with the company extending its demo ride-along program by three months until the end of March 2026. The update seems to have been implemented due to overwhelming demand.
Needless to say, it does appear that FSD fever is starting to catch in Europe.
Extended FSD demonstrations
Tesla EU Policy and Business Development Manager Ivan Komušanac shared on LinkedIn that the company is offering ride-along experiences in Germany, France and Italy while working toward FSD (Supervised) approval in Europe.
He noted that this provides a great feedback opportunity from the general public, encouraging participants to record and share their experiences. For those unable to book in December, Komušanac teased more slots as “Christmas presents.”
Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt highlighted the extension on X, stating that dates now run from December 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, in multiple cities including Stuttgart-Weinstadt, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf in Germany. This suggests that the FSD ride-along program in Europe has officially been extended until the end of the first quarter of 2026.
Building momentum for European approval
Replies to Merritt’s posts buzzed with excitement, with users like @AuzyMale noting that Cologne and Düsseldorf are already fully booked. This sentiment was echoed by numerous other Tesla enthusiasts on social media. Calls for the program’s expansion to other European territories have also started gaining steam, with some X users suggesting Switzerland and Finland as the next locations for FSD ride-alongs.
Ultimately, the Tesla EU Policy and Business Development Manager’s post aligns with the company’s broader FSD efforts in Europe. As per recent reports, Tesla recently demonstrated FSD’s capabilities for Rome officials. Reporters from media outlets in France and Germany have also published positive reviews of FSD’s capabilities on real-world roads.
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Tesla’s six-seat extended wheelbase Model Y L sold out for January 2026
Estimated delivery dates for new Tesla Model Y L orders now extend all the way into February 2026.
The Tesla Model Y L seems to be in high demand in China, with estimated delivery dates for new orders now extending all the way into February 2026.
This suggests that the Model Y L has been officially sold out from the rest of 2025 to January 2026.
Model Y L estimated delivery dates
The Model Y L’s updated delivery dates mark an extension from the vehicle’s previous 4-8 week estimated wait time. A detailed chart shared by Tesla data tracker @Tslachan on X shows the progressions of the Model Y L’s estimated delivery dates since its launch earlier this year.
Following its launch in September, the vehicle was given an initial October 2025 estimated delivery date. The wait times for the vehicle were continually updated over the years, until the middle of November, when the Model Y L had an estimated delivery date of 4-8 weeks. This remained until now, when Tesla China simply listed February 2026 as the estimated delivery date for new Model Y L orders.
Model Y demand in China
Tesla Model Y demand in China seems to be very healthy, even beyond the Model Y L. New delivery dates show the company has already sold out its allocation of the all-electric crossover for 2025. The Model Y has been the most popular vehicle in the world in both of the last two years, outpacing incredibly popular vehicles like the Toyota RAV4. In China, the EV market is substantially more saturated, with more competitors than in any other market.
Tesla has been particularly kind to the Chinese market, as it has launched trim levels for the Model Y in the country that are not available anywhere else, such as the Model Y L. Demand has been strong for the Model Y in China, with the vehicle ranking among the country’s top 5 New Energy Vehicles. Interestingly enough, vehicles that beat the Model Y in volume like the BYD Seagull are notably more affordable. Compared to vehicles that are comparably priced, the Model Y remains a strong seller in China.
Elon Musk
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang commends Tesla’s Elon Musk for early belief
“And when I announced DGX-1, nobody in the world wanted it. I had no purchase orders, not one. Nobody wanted to buy it. Nobody wanted to be part of it, except for Elon.”
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast on Wednesday and commended Tesla CEO Elon Musk for his early belief in what is now the most valuable company in the world.
Huang and Musk are widely regarded as two of the greatest tech entrepreneurs of the modern era, with the two working in conjunction as NVIDIA’s chips are present in Tesla vehicles, particularly utilized for self-driving technology and data collection.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang regrets not investing more in Elon Musk’s xAI
Both CEOs defied all odds and created companies from virtually nothing. Musk joined Tesla in the early 2000s before the company had even established any plans to build a vehicle. Jensen created NVIDIA in the booth of a Denny’s restaurant, which has been memorialized with a plaque.
On the JRE episode, Rogan asked about Jensen’s relationship with Elon, to which the NVIDIA CEO said that Musk was there when nobody else was:
“I was lucky because I had known Elon Musk, and I helped him build the first computer for Model 3, the Model S, and when he wanted to start working on an autonomous vehicle. I helped him build the computer that went into the Model S AV system, his full self-driving system. We were basically the FSD computer version 1, and so we were already working together.
And when I announced DGX-1, nobody in the world wanted it. I had no purchase orders, not one. Nobody wanted to buy it. Nobody wanted to be part of it, except for Elon.
He goes ‘You know what, I have a company that could really use this.’ I said, Wow, my first customer. And he goes, it’s an AI company, and it’s a nonprofit and and we could really use one of these supercomputers. I boxed one up, I drove it up to San Francisco, and I delivered it to the Elon in 2016.”
The first DGX-1 AI supercomputer was delivered personally to Musk when he was with OpenAI, which provided crucial early compute power for AI research, accelerating breakthroughs in machine learning that underpin modern tools like ChatGPT.
Tesla’s Nvidia purchases could reach $4 billion this year: Musk
The long-term alliance between NVIDIA and Tesla has driven over $2 trillion in the company’s market value since 2016.
Tesla extends FSD Supervised ride-alongs in Europe by three months
Tesla’s six-seat extended wheelbase Model Y L sold out for January 2026
