Engagement and driving modes

NAP operates in one of two modes depending on whether a Comma Pedal is installed. The mode is set in the NAP settings panel via the Pedal Interceptor toggle and cannot be switched while driving.

Pedal mode (Comma Pedal installed)

When the pedal interceptor is present and enabled, NAP takes over both steering and throttle. The pedal sits between the car's accelerator pedal signal and the drive inverter; NAP sends its own throttle commands through it while the stock cruise control is bypassed entirely.

What NAP controls: steering angle, throttle via the pedal interceptor, and regenerative deceleration.

Speed floor: the pedal lets NAP hold speed down to around walking pace (roughly 1 mph / 1.6 km/h). Below about 5 mph (8 km/h) regenerative braking weakens significantly, so the car will coast more than it slows — NAP cannot friction-brake. Plan stops well ahead.

Braking limitation: NAP cannot apply friction brakes. Regen is the only deceleration NAP can command. You are the brakes.

No-pedal mode (steering only)

Without the pedal, NAP steers the car while the stock Tesla cruise control holds your set speed. NAP synthesizes stalk commands over CAN for exactly two things: engaging stock CC when you double-pull, and canceling it when you disengage. That's it.

What NAP controls: steering angle. The stock Tesla CC holds a fixed set speed — plain dumb cruise, not adaptive. NAP does not adjust the set speed or slow the car for traffic in this mode. If the car ahead slows down, you brake or adjust the stalk yourself.

Tinkla took a different approach here: it continuously spammed stalk up/down commands to bend stock CC toward the speed its planner wanted, which gave a rough form of adaptive cruise. NAP deliberately doesn't do this — constantly injecting stalk commands is a larger safety surface than we're comfortable with. Continuous stalk-based speed control may come later, but only once it can be done safely.

Speed floor: stock Tesla CC only operates above approximately 18 mph (29 km/h). If traffic slows below that, stock CC disengages and the car coasts. You resume when speed is back above 18 mph.

Arming stock cruise: before engaging NAP in no-pedal mode, press the cruise stalk in to arm the cruise master switch. You'll see the orange light on the stalk end. NAP will not turn this on for you — if the orange light isn't on, the CC can't engage and NAP will steer but not set speed.

Engaging: the double-pull

Engagement always requires a double-pull: pull the cruise stalk toward you twice in quick succession (within about 400 ms). A single pull is deliberately insufficient — this prevents accidental engagement from bumping the stalk.

• First pull: NAP enters a pending state and starts lateral (steering) control. The window for the second pull opens.
• Second pull within the window: full engagement. In pedal mode, NAP takes longitudinal control too. In no-pedal mode, NAP sends the stalk-engage spoof and stock CC holds current speed.
• Window expires without second pull: NAP stays in lateral-only mode (steering active, no speed control).

The double-pull window is capped at 400 ms. This was tuned from real drive logs — natural double-pulls land between 250 and 400 ms, so the window catches intentional inputs but rejects bumps.

Controlling speed while engaged

No-pedal mode: the cruise stalk up/down buttons work exactly as they do in stock CC. Short press = ±1 mph, long press = ±5 mph. NAP is not involved in these adjustments; the stock CC responds directly. Speed management is entirely on you — NAP will not slow for a lead car in this mode.

Pedal mode: the same stalk up/down presses update NAP's target speed. NAP's speed planner handles the rest.

What pressing the brake does

Pedal mode: a rising brake-pedal edge drops longitudinal control — the pedal interceptor goes passive — but steering stays active. You're now in steering-only mode until you re-engage longitudinal (or cancel entirely). If you want full disengage, use stalk cancel.

No-pedal mode: stock CC behavior applies. Pressing the brake cancels stock CC and therefore cancels all speed control. Steering will also disengage because there's no longer a cruise-enabled state to maintain.

Disengaging

• Stalk cancel (push stalk away from you): full disengage. Both steering and longitudinal drop. In no-pedal mode, NAP also spoofs a cancel command to stock CC.
• Steering override (firm hands on wheel): if you apply enough steering torque — roughly hands-on level 3 or above — NAP disengages steering entirely. Longitudinal drops too. This is both a software behavior and a panda safety enforcement.
• Gas pedal in pedal mode: pressing the accelerator while NAP is engaged overrides the pedal interceptor — your foot controls throttle directly. NAP tracks the position and can resume smooth control when you lift off. This does not disengage NAP.

Safety layer

Required reading on all of this: the NotAutopilot safety page.

The panda enforces engagement limits independently of NAP's software logic. It will hard-disengage steering on EPAS error codes 6–9, hands-on torque above the threshold, door-open while driving, and certain gear states. None of these go through the software FSM — the panda cuts the steering command directly.

Forward collision warning continues to fire alerts while NAP is engaged, but NAP cannot apply friction brakes in response to them. The alert is for you. Eyes on the road.