Tesla's Automatic Collision Evasion Can Turn On FSD to Avoid a Crash

Tesla is preparing a safety feature that blurs the line between driver assistance and autonomy. Called Automatic Collision Evasion, it appears in the release notes for software update 2026.27.5, which also carries FSD (Supervised) v14.3.9. The feature can automatically activate Full Self-Driving when the vehicle decides the person behind the wheel may not react to an imminent collision.

The update has not been released to the public and is currently in internal testing with Tesla employees. Drive Tesla Canada, which reviewed the release notes, reports that the feature is tied to FSD — meaning it will only be available on cars with an FSD license or subscription.

What the release notes say

According to the notes, Automatic Collision Evasion engages while the vehicle is being driven manually. Tesla describes it this way:

"Automatic Collision Evasion activates Full Self-Driving (Supervised) to keep your vehicle safe and then continue driving. It can engage while you are driving manually and detects that you are not sufficiently attentive to the road (for example, reaching toward the back seat), or that Full Self-Driving (Supervised) may have been unintentionally disengaged."

The description positions the feature above Tesla's existing Automatic Emergency Braking and collision-avoidance systems. Rather than only braking hard or making a brief evasive steering input, Automatic Collision Evasion hands control to FSD, which steers out of danger and keeps driving afterward.

Cabin camera plays a role

Drive Tesla Canada reports Tesla appears to be combining inputs from the exterior cameras with the cabin camera — the same camera already used for driver monitoring in FSD. That would let the car recognize situations where the driver's attention is elsewhere, such as reaching into the back seat, and act on it.

The feature can also intervene when FSD was unintentionally disengaged, though Tesla does not detail what counts as accidental. Timing for the public rollout is unknown: as with any Tesla software release, bugs found during internal testing could delay it or drop it from FSD v14.3.9 entirely.

Why it matters in Canada

For Canadian FSD buyers, Automatic Collision Evasion is a meaningful addition to a feature that already costs $11,000 in Canada — and it arrives the same week a B.C. driver was fined $368 after police found him allegedly asleep in a moving Tesla on the Trans-Canada Highway. A system that takes over when the driver genuinely cannot react is a different proposition from one that merely warns and brakes, and it will sharpen the debate over how driver monitoring and liability should work when the car steps in on its own.

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