A Tesla owner who cheats on his wife recently discovered that his adultery could be revealed to his spouse on the vehicle’s app.
The man shared his findings online, noting in a Reddit post that she could theoretically see where he drives, how fast he drives, where he parks the car and whether anyone else is in the car with him.
Although the cheater has not yet been caught, he told DailyMail.com that he is warning of the risks “to make others aware.”
The post has received more than 140 comments, with one user offering solutions such as turning off the mobile connection or simply denying his wife access to the app, while others told the cheater to just be faithful to his wife .
The Tesla Model Y received a rating of 7.5/10 from Car and Driver. Commenters noted that many of the safety features identified as risks are actually some of the reasons people choose the brand
“Tesla is killing my OPSEC,” he wrote.
“Opsec” is military intelligence abbreviation for “operational security,” meaning the steps you take to ensure an enemy doesn’t learn your tactics.
The Redditor shared: ‘If you’re interested in buying a Tesla, keep in mind that your partner can see your location in the Tesla app, as well as how fast you’re driving, whether you’re parked, where you’re parked and even where you sit in the damn car with a heat map in case you’re hoping to turn up the temperature in the backseat.”
“Cars are getting too smart these days,” he concluded.
The Tesla two-timer wasn’t caught because of the car’s features, but he recently noticed that this was possible and decided to post about it to warn others in the ‘r/adultery’ subreddit.
‘I can’t say I was surprised. It’s packed with technical features, but I thought it might not work for someone who needs more discretion,” he told DailyMail.com.
When asked if he is someone who needs such discretion, he replied: “I don’t need it in the same way as I need water to drink, food to eat and air to breathe, but in retrospect I would prefer to give.’
The poster read Agitated_Sugar_7738: it’s a man in his 40s driving a 2024 Model Y.
One Redditor gave some advice to the cheating husband, saying he could turn off the cell connection and blame technical issues.
And since many Tesla Supercharger stations are located in hotels, they could say they were just in a hotel because they needed an electrical outlet.
Like many Tesla vehicles, the latest Model Y includes phone integration with the Tesla app that allows the driver to unlock the car remotely from their phone.
Phone integration also allows you to grant access to a second driver, who can also monitor the car remotely from their phone.
The Tesla app allows a partner to remotely monitor your car’s location and speed, alerting them of any unexpected excursions
Tesla owners can remotely activate ‘sentry mode’, which turns on cameras both inside and outside the car
Drivers can perform a range of functions via the Tesla app.
They can track where the car is, and whether it is on the road or parked.
They can unlock their car and put it in ‘sentry mode’, where recordings are made via internal and external cameras.
The car’s climate control system is also visible through the app, allowing a spouse with access to see if someone is using the heat or air conditioning on a particular seat in the car.
The Tesla app shows charging status and climate controls, including which seats are using the heating and cooling functions
This isn’t the first time Tesla customers have had to worry about their privacy in or around the tech-heavy vehicles.
Tesla came under fire last year when whistleblowers revealed that the vehicles’ external cameras could record video in people’s garages when the car was parked and charging.
Employees shared videos with each other and received rewards and professional consideration for sharing the funniest clips.
‘We could see them doing laundry and doing very intimate things. We could see their children,” the staffer said. According to the report, the camera was able to capture people’s lives because it was charging.
The post generated a lot of discussion about how to successfully cheat on your partner, with or without Tesla.
‘Take the bus. Or an Uber. This is not a complicated problem,” one commenter responded.
“If you can’t figure out a solution to this relatively minor problem yourself (with an incredibly simple solution), then you’re not smart enough to have an affair.” You will absolutely make a mistake somewhere or forget something obvious and then get caught,” they continued.
Others offered solutions that were more tech-heavy, suggesting that the car’s monitoring technology could be seen as an advantage to someone who would commit adultery.
“You can use it to your advantage too,” another commenter replied. ‘If (significant other) takes the car, (you) can, with a little home automation, receive an alarm when they drive back. This way you have enough free, safe time at another location.’
Many commenters weren’t so solution-oriented: “That’s completely YOUR problem because you chose to lock yourself in an easily controlled vehicle,” said one.
Asked if he took risks with the car that he wouldn’t have taken had he known he would get caught, the original poster told DailyMail.com: “I noticed it before I got that far.”
As for other people’s reactions on Reddit, he wasn’t surprised.
“It’s the internet and especially Reddit, so people are going to be more critical,” he said.”