China reports driver‑monitoring hacks on Tesla and a Xiaomi SU7 assisted‑driving crash

In China, owners of Tesla vehicles have been using inexpensive miniature replicas of famous heads to block the cabin‑mounted driver‑monitoring camera. The fake heads, sold for about $20‑30, conceal the driver’s face and allow the car’s Full Self‑Driving system to operate for up to 30 minutes without issuing alerts, according to social‑media videos.

Separately, a Xiaomi SU7 electric sedan crashed on the newly built G33 highway when its assisted‑driving system failed to recognize a large mound of earth on the unopened road. The vehicle struck the obstacle, sustaining severe front‑end damage and deploying airbags, but the driver emerged without serious injury. The incident highlighted shortcomings of camera‑based assistance on lower‑spec models that lack LiDAR.

Both cases underscore ongoing safety and regulatory concerns about camera‑reliant driver‑monitoring and assisted‑driving technologies in China.