Seoul police investigate 80 Tesla drivers over FSD unlocking — Electrek
Police in Seoul, South Korea, are investigating 80 Tesla drivers suspected of using devices to illegally activate the Full Self-Driving (FSD) function in vehicles not approved for its use in the country. Law enforcement officers also seized 21 such devices, Electrek reports.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced the case on Tuesday. According to police, the suspects either imported unlocking modules from Europe and China or manufactured them themselves. One suspect connected a European-made device to their own Tesla, while another, an IT worker, created their own module using information from GitHub.
Liability for software modification
The suspects are accused of violating South Korea’s Motor Vehicle Management Act. The law prohibits unauthorized software modifications that can affect vehicle safety. The penalty may include up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won, approximately $15,000.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport referred the matter to police in April after detecting signs of unauthorized FSD activation. A police representative told the Korea JoongAng Daily that safety risks had been confirmed, including the possibility that the system could incorrectly recognize traffic situations. The investigation is ongoing with the participation of the ministry and South Korea’s transport safety authority.
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Which Teslas can use FSD
Tesla launched FSD Supervised in South Korea in late 2025, but only for U.S.-made Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck vehicles. These vehicles are exempt from Korean safety certification under the free trade agreement between South Korea and the United States.
Model 3 and Model Y vehicles supplied to the country from Tesla’s Shanghai plant have not passed the certification required for this function. According to Carisyou Data Lab, as of August, FSD could legally be used by 47,458 of the 229,311 Teslas on South Korean roads. At the same time, government data released in May gave a significantly lower estimate: 4,292 vehicles out of 180,684 registered Teslas.
As the publication notes, the modules connect to the vehicle’s CAN bus and bypass the regional software restriction. According to Electrek, Tesla began remotely detecting such devices in April and disabling FSD in affected vehicles.
