Tesla Model 3 Successfully Stolen Using An App On Phone
While Elon Musk has been ripped apart due to him smoking weed on a podcast with Joe Rogan (wrongly, may I add), Tesla comes under yet more fire after it’s been reported that a Tesla Model 3 had been successfully unlocked and stolen from a rental company.
Car Advice reports that the man who stole the car was arrested in Texas after using the Tesla App to the car after exploiting a loophole in its design. Computer forensics specialist, Mark Lanterman, says this on the subject:
“What it sounds like this person may have done is convince Tesla to take the VIN number of that vehicle and add it to his Tesla account,” he said in a statement quoted by Electrek.
“By doing that, you can do that with a phone call. By doing that, you can now control the Tesla from an app on your phone.”
"It's almost as if time slows down… it's a pleasure and a marvel to experience" @caranddriverhttps://t.co/XsHTpsfYqM
— Tesla (@Tesla) September 8, 2018
This method is usually used by Tesla owners with loan cars who need to swap details temporarily on their accounts.
The suspect had previously rented the car from Trevls, and therefore had his phone linked to the car during that period. The CEO of the rental company confirmed that the car’s details were taken from the phone once his rental period was over, but couldn’t shed any light on how the man got the details back.
#TeslaModel3 outsells entire BMW car lineup in August: https://t.co/9o01co3GIt pic.twitter.com/IbJ4TGHcHj
— Autoblog (@therealautoblog) September 9, 2018
Catching the suspect in the act wasn’t difficult with GPS tracking and being able to see where the car was being charged from, but the question remains as to whether remote access for cars is the way forward.
With almost all car manufacturers jumping on keyless systems, this does open up yet another method of getting into your car.
