Elon Musk Declares Texting While Tesla Driving a 'Contextual' Suggestion

KEY POINTS

•Elon Musk announced Tesla's latest FSD software allows phone use while driving based on 'surrounding traffic context', sparking legality debates.
•Law enforcement officials from Arizona, New York, and Illinois confirmed texting during driving remains illegal even with advanced assistance systems active.
•Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised FSD will 'nag' drivers less soon, while users openly share strategies to bypass attention-monitoring alerts.

In a masterclass of mixed signals and legal eyebrow raises, Elon Musk revealed that Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) software might let drivers glance at their phones 'depending on the context,' which apparently includes ignoring the actual law that bans texting while driving. Released around December 2025, FSD v14.2 prods drivers less about focusing on the road, after complaints about its nagging nature—kind of like a robo-parent finally losing patience. Despite zero states updating laws to bless 'phone time caressed by AI assistance,' Tesla’s pilot robotaxi in Austin mansions a human safety monitor, who is presumably being paid to stare at Tesla owners using their phones precariously. Illinois, Arizona, and New York cops confirmed that emergency calls only count as legal phone use, while Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff admitted positioning his phone sneakily on the wheel to dodge Tesla’s attention alerts, earning bi-monthly tickets and plenty of dirty cop looks. Meanwhile, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating 2.9 million Teslas for running reds and going the wrong way to probably make room for Elon’s 'nag less' pledge. Basically, your Tesla might drive itself, but it won’t drive your sense of self-preservation home.