Tesla's Full Self-Driving software (FSD) is now capable of avoiding collisions even while disabled during manual driving

Tesla has recently taken an unexpected turn with its driver assistance system. With version 14.3.9 of Full Self-Driving (Supervised), the software no longer limits itself to controlling the vehicle when the driver activates it. It can now also monitor manual driving and intervene if it considers there is a risk of an accident.

According to the company itself, the system kicks in if it detects an imminent collision when it considers that automatic emergency braking might not be enough. It also acts when it perceives that the driver is clearly distracted —for example, by taking their eyes off the road to eat or drink something— or if the FSD has been disabled without the user noticing. In those cases it activates supervised mode, protects the vehicle and keeps going.

Tesla has focused this new feature on two specific situations: a frontal collision in which braking alone is not enough, and lack of attention or an involuntary disconnection of the system. This therefore represents an important paradigm shift because, until now, the official narrative was the opposite: the driver had to monitor the behaviour of the FSD. The authorities imposed the label “Supervised” precisely to make clear that this is not complete, fully autonomous driving. The driver remains responsible.

The FSD (Supervised) is, however, increasingly close to that dreamed-of future. It allows door-to-door journeys with fewer and fewer human corrections. Users who already employ it, mainly in the United States, have reported journeys of more than a thousand kilometres without the driver intervening at any point. The latter, although great news, is also dangerous, because some drivers may become overly trusting, when at certain specific moments their intervention is absolutely necessary.

Tesla’s FSD (Supervised) is gaining ground in Europe

Finally, it is worth noting, precisely in relation to this news, that the rollout of FSD (Supervised) in Europe continues to advance. Slovenia has just authorised the system on its roads, becoming the sixth country in the Union, after the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Estonia and Lithuania, to give the green light to its use.

Ahead of a possible EU-wide homologation vote scheduled for 6 October 2026, Tesla has published an online dashboard with data on kilometres driven and accidents. The company’s message is clear and direct: FSD (Supervised) is helping to prevent deaths in those countries where its use is permitted. Tesla considers, however, that across much of Europe this benefit is running up against administrative barriers.