The other change that Tesla has introduced to its driver monitoring and penalty system is a reduction of the forgiveness period of the Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) strikes by half. The new Owner Manual bundled with software version 2025.32 states that a strike will be removed from the record of a driver after 3.5 days, rather than 7 days.
The action shows that Tesla continues to work on the balance between safety and convenience, with its driver assistance software getting more power and less supervision and heavy-handedness.
From 7 Days to 3.5
The strike system at Tesla is an essential element in the attentiveness enforcement at the company. If drivers are caught acting irresponsibly (not paying attention to the road or trying to switch off FSD too often), they get a strike. A maximum number of strikes causes temporary FSD suspension:
- 5 strikes on vehicles that have a cabin camera.
- 3 strikes for vehicles without one.
In the past, the forgiveness of each strike was made after seven days with no additional infractions. That has now been reduced by half the time, and what it means is that those drivers who stay in focus and avoid more strikes can reset much quicker.
This modification is based on a May 2024 change, when Tesla allowed strikes to decay gradually, one strike forgiven weekly for safe operation, instead of entirely wiping them out with significant software updates.
Tesla Reduces FSD Strike Forgiveness to 3.5 Days: https://t.co/ol6jRyJkwT https://t.co/ol6jRyJkwT
— Not a Tesla App (@NotATeslaApp) September 17, 2025
Why Tesla is Loosening the Rules
The fact that Tesla is lowering strike forgiveness may look like the company is becoming stricter. In reality, though, this is a driver-friendly modification. A smaller reset window would mean that it is much less likely to get several strikes and lose access to FSD.
Effectively, Tesla is rendering it more difficult to strike out on the part of the drivers. A driver would have to accumulate several offenses within a few days to get locked out now, something that cannot happen unless he or she is always careless.
This is an indication of growing confidence by Tesla in its software. The longer the suspensions are required, the more FSD becomes capable of dealing with real-world roads. The company is basically stating the following: FSD is safe enough that we are able to afford to be more lenient.
The Role of Driver Monitoring
Since 2021, Tesla has relied on its vision-based Driver Monitoring System (DMS) to make sure drivers are attentive. Previously, the system was infamously rigid, with warnings being given even on small amounts of distraction, such as when one looked at the center display.
However, Tesla has been softening these regulations. FSD v13.2.9 eliminated the steering wheel nag, which means that the drivers can drive without touching the steering wheel, provided that the camera can read their attentiveness. The next version, which is supposed to be FSD v14, will probably decrease monitoring even further.
The fact that Tesla has softened the monitoring system as well as the strike forgiveness system is an indication that it perceives the software as the main safety net rather than the human eye.
