Tesla Full Self-Driving has an 'Assertive' mode that can make rolling stops

Tesla's polarizing Full Self-Driving beta software is back with another round of controversy. Now included with the software are profiles that change the behavior of the software, and one selection may engage in behavior that violates US traffic laws. The Verge first reported Sunday on photos from owners showing FSD's "Chill," "Average" and "Assertive" modes. Each of these modes tweaks FSD's characteristics in terms of following distance, lane changes and more.

The kicker for this "Assertive" mode, however, is the fact it may engage in more "rolling stops," according to the description in the photo below. That is, the practice of not coming to a full and complete stop before motoring through a stop sign. The behavior is widely illegal across the US. On top of rolling stops, this profile will also "not exit passing lanes," which sounds like a surefire way to make other motorists upset when forced to pass on the right.

Tesla does not operate a public relations department to field requests for comment. It's hard to say how often the software might engage in dangerous or illegal behavior. We should note, as always, that FSD is not a fully self-driving technology and there are no self-driving cars currently for sale.

These driving profiles first appeared in October with update 10.3. However, the company quickly reverted it. CEO Elon Musk tweeted then that the automaker was "seeing some issues," and bumped owners back to 10.2, before 10.3.1 was issued in late October. The FSD profiles were included in that update, according to this third-party site that collects Tesla's release notes; the company itself does not publish them online.

Regulators continue to scrutinize Tesla's technologies. Tesla's Autopilot system is under federal investigation for crashes with emergency vehicles, and the government opened a separate federal probe surrounding the ability to play video games while driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered Tesla to remove the ability for passengers to play games while driving in December. Now, the system only works when the vehicle is in park.

Read more: Tesla raising price of Full Self-Driving option that still doesn't fully self-drive

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