Tesla's Automatic Collision Evasion sparks debate — paywalled, HW4-only
Automatic Collision Evasion — added in FSD 14.3.9 on September 4 to let FSD briefly steer around an unavoidable crash — is drawing criticism for being restricted to paying FSD subscribers on AI4 (Hardware 4) vehicles, leaving HW3 owners and non-FSD buyers without it.
ACE kicks in when Automatic Emergency Braking alone may not be enough to prevent an imminent collision, letting FSD momentarily steer or change lanes to avoid it. Tesla introduced the feature in the FSD 14.3.9 update on September 4.
The controversy centers on access: ACE is available only to FSD Supervised subscribers, and only on vehicles running AI4 (Hardware 4) computers. Owners without an FSD purchase — or driving older Hardware 3 cars — cannot use it.
Critics argue a potentially life-saving safety feature shouldn't sit behind a paywall or a hardware tier. The feature also renews debate over how much control FSD should be allowed to take from the driver without consent, however briefly.
Tesla hasn't formally responded to the criticism. The debate comes the same day the company detailed plans for FSD v15, a 10-billion-parameter neural network upgrade aimed at improving hazard prediction and collision avoidance more broadly — raising the question of whether future safety gains will reach a wider range of vehicles.
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