South Korean police have referred 80 Tesla owners to judicial authorities for unauthorised activation of the automaker's Full Self-Driving capability, Zoomit reported on 7 November 2026. Officers also confiscated 21 unauthorised devices used to override software restrictions.
The owners are accused of attaching homemade or imported modules to the internal communication bus of their vehicles to bypass regional software blocks. Some modules were imported from Europe and China, while one suspect built a device using technical specifications found online. In South Korea, Full Self-Driving is authorised only on certain American-built Model S, Model X and Cybertruck vehicles, while Chinese-built Model 3 and Model Y cars lack approval.
Police warned that unauthorised activation of the autonomous driving system can lead to incorrect assessments of road conditions or erratic vehicle behaviour, endangering occupants and other road users. Under South Korea's Automobile Management Act, the accused face up to two years in prison or fines of up to 20 million won.
