Chinese Tesla Owners Using Doll Heads to Fool Autopilot Safety Cameras

Executive Briefing

• Exploits a niche market of $10–$40 figurines and gadgets designed to trick Tesla's cabin-facing driver-monitoring cameras.
• Tricks range from miniature celebrity heads and photos to looping video screens simulating a blinking human face.
• Trend accelerated after Tesla rolled out stricter distracted-driver monitoring in China via a software update last year.
• Safety experts warn bypassing attention systems raises accident risk, as Autopilot still requires active human supervision.
• Tesla has not publicly responded or confirmed whether future updates will counter these low-tech workarounds.