Tesla app code reveals FSD driver identity check
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- Tesla iOS app version 4.58.5, built June 27, contains code strings "fsdIdentityCheckFailedTitle" and "showFsdIdentityCheckFailedDialog" that describe a cabin-camera-based driver identity check blocking FSD on a mismatch, per the @Tesla_App_iOS decompile account.
- Tesla first activated cabin-camera driver monitoring in 2021 and has steadily expanded what it tracks (attention, drowsiness, eye and head position); since FSD v12.4 in 2024, the camera above the rearview mirror has been the primary monitor, replacing steering-wheel torque sensing.
- The forthcoming identity check functions as a permission gate rather than a safety nag, letting Tesla tie FSD subscription activation to an authorized profile — useful for rentals, shared or fleet vehicles, and keeping unauthorized drivers from engaging the system.
- Tesla's Robotaxi service leans on the same cabin camera, where matching the person in the seat to the account that booked the ride is exactly the verification a driverless fleet needs.
- The catch is the hardware: Tesla's cabin camera is a standard RGB sensor, not the infrared depth-mapping used by Apple's Face ID, inheriting the same blind spots the owner's manual already lists for attention monitoring — disabled in poor lighting, when covered, or when the driver wears sunglasses or a hat.
Why it matters: Tesla is repurposing its in-cabin camera from a safety monitor into an access-control gate, which matters for anyone sharing a Tesla — rental fleets, families with teen drivers, and eventually Robotaxi riders who need to match the booked profile. The hardware ceiling is real: it's an RGB sensor, not infrared depth-mapping, so the check is a permission gate with the same lighting and occlusion blind spots Tesla's own owner's manual already documents.
