This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) slipped slightly on Friday after CEO Elon Musk once again stirred debate, this time by suggesting that texting while driving will be possible in cars running the newest version of Full Self-Driving (Supervised).
In most places, texting behind the wheel is illegal, and even where it isn’t, it is widely considered dangerous. So when Musk said drivers could send messages in FSD v14.2.1, investors didn’t exactly cheer.
Musk did add that texting would depend on context of surrounding traffic, arguing that when the road is empty and the car is handling the driving, it may be reasonably safe.
But the comment nonetheless drew pushback, with some critics warning drivers to not listen to the billionaire CEO of the company that makes your car.
The discussion also resurfaced the long-running debate over whether FSD should eventually allow unsupervised operation, and whether such technology will force lawmakers to rethink texting-and-driving rules entirely.
