Tesla self-driving feature illegally activated; police apprehend 80 suspects

[Financial News] Police have apprehended 80 suspects accused of illegally activating Tesla vehicles’ driver-assistance feature using unauthorized devices.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Traffic Crime Investigation Team said on the 27th that it had apprehended 80 people on suspicion of connecting unauthorized devices to Tesla vehicles to activate the driver-assistance feature FSD (Full Self-Driving) without authorization. Police also seized 21 unauthorized devices in the process.
According to police, the suspects used the feature by purchasing FSD activation devices sold overseas, including in Europe and China, or by connecting devices they had made themselves to their vehicles.
Investigators found that the suspects had activated FSD without going through the software updates or certification procedures officially provided by the manufacturer. Police determined that this posed safety risks, including the possibility that the feature might fail to properly recognize driving conditions or operate contrary to the driver’s intentions.
Police confirmed that Suspect A, who was apprehended, had purchased an unauthorized FSD activation device sold in Europe and connected it to their Tesla. A is suspected of using the FSD feature without an official software update or certification procedure by means of the device.
Suspect B, who works in an IT-related field, was found to have used technical information about vehicle electronic control systems to make an unauthorized device. Investigators believe B made the device to activate FSD using open-source software obtained from GitHub, an overseas developer platform.
Some suspects shared methods in online communities not only for activating FSD without authorization but also for preventing related records from being left on vehicles. Police obtained relevant posts and chat records to establish the circumstances of the alleged offenses.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency launched an investigation at the request of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. It then worked with relevant agencies, including by seeking technical advice from the ministry and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority on matters such as illegal structural modifications related to FSD.
Police referred the 80 apprehended suspects to prosecutors on suspicion of violating the Motor Vehicle Management Act. An official from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said, “We intend to continue investigating illegal acts that threaten safety on the roads, in cooperation with relevant agencies.”

[email protected] Kim Ye-ji Reporter