Chinese Drivers Are Using Tiny Plastic Heads to Fool Tesla’s Autopilot Safeguards
Key takeaways
- Last week, videos showing the miniature heads at work inside Tesla cars went viral.
- On Chinese ecommerce platforms like Taobao, Xianyu, and Douyin, listings for the heads are easy to find.
- One Tesla Model 3 owner in China told me that his miniature head works perfectly.
Why this matters: a development in AI with implications for how people work, create, and decide.
Photo-Illustration: WIRED Staff; Getty Images Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story In China, for just $30, you can have Dwayne Johnson drive your Tesla for you. Sounds too cheap to be true? Well, it is. What you’re actually buying is a tiny replica of The Rock's head, designed to sit above the rearview mirror and trick Tesla into thinking an attentive driver is behind the wheel. Tesla’s self-driving system appears unable to tell the difference between the figurines and a real person, allowing the actual driver to look away from the road, scroll through their phone, or even doze off—activities that are supposed to be prohibited while assisted-driving features are engaged.
Last week, videos showing the miniature heads at work inside Tesla cars went viral. I fell into a deep rabbit hole browsing ecommerce sites and online forums to learn more about where they came from. The figurines come in dozens of varieties, most depicting Hollywood or Chinese celebrities. Some appear to be repurposed dolls or figurines. They are just one example of the creative, but also potentially dangerous, ways that Chinese Tesla owners are trying to circumvent the car maker’s safety guardrails.
On Chinese ecommerce platforms like Taobao, Xianyu, and Douyin, listings for the heads are easy to find. They are priced anywhere from $10 to $40, depending on how sophisticated they are. They can be installed on the car’s ceiling, windshield, or rearview mirror, and are carefully positioned to block the actual driver’s head and nothing else.