A Tesla owner who is cheating on his wife recently discovered his adultery could be revealed to his spouse in the vehicle’s app.
The man shared his findings online, noting in a Reddit post that she could theoretically see where he is driving, how fast he is going, where he parks the car, and whether someone else is in the car with him.
While the cheater has not been caught, he told DailyMail.com he is warning of the risks ‘to make others aware.’
The post has received over 140 comments, with one user providing workarounds like turning off the mobile connection or just denying his spouse access to the app – while others told the cheater he should just be faithful to his wife.
The Tesla Model Y received a 7.5/10 rating from Car and Driver. Commenters noted that many of the safety features identified as liabilities are in fact some of the reasons people select the brand
‘Tesla is KILLING my OPSEC,’ he wrote.
‘Opsec’ is the military intelligence shorthand for ‘operational security,’ meaning the steps you take to assure that an enemy will not find out your tactics.
The Redditor shared: ‘If you’re interested in buying a Tesla, just be aware that your partner can see your location on the Tesla app, as well as how fast you’re driving, if you’re parked, where you’re parked and even where you are in the fucking car with heat map in case you’re hoping to turn up the temperature in the backseat.’
‘Cars are getting too damn smart these days,’ he concluded.
The Tesla two-timer has not been caught because of the car’s features, but he recently noticed it was a possibility and decided to post about it to warn others in the ‘r/adultery’ subreddit.
‘I can’t say I was surprised. It is seriously loaded with tech features, but made me think it may not work for someone who needs more discretion,’ he told DailyMail.com.
As to whether he is someone who needs such discretion, he replied: ‘I don’t need it the same way I need water to drink, food to eat and air to breathe, but looking back I would prefer it.’
Going by Agitated_Sugar_7738, the poster said he is a man in his 40s who drives a 2024 Model Y.
One Redditor offered some advice to the cheating husband, saying he could turn off the mobile connection and blame technical problems.
And since many Tesla Supercharger stations are located at hotels, they could say they were just at a hotel because they needed to plug in.
Like many Tesla vehicles, the latest Model Y includes phone integration with the Tesla app that lets the driver unlock the car remotely from their phone.
The phone integration also lets you grant access to a second driver, who can remotely monitor the car from their phone too.
The Tesla app can allow a spouse to remotely monitor the location and speed of your car, making them aware of any unexpected side trips
Tesla owners can activate ‘sentry mode’ remotely, which turns on cameras both inside and outside of the car
Through the Tesla app, drivers can perform a range of functions.
They can track where the car is, including whether it is on the road or parked.
They can unlock their car and put it in ‘sentry mode,’ which records via internal and external cameras.
The car’s climate control system is also visible through the app, which means a spouse with access could see if someone is using the heat or air conditioning in a certain seat in the car.
The Tesla app shows charging status and climate control – including which seats are using the heating and cooling features
This is not 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 can capture video in people’s garages when the car was parked and charging.
Employees would share videos among themselves, receiving rewards and professional considerations for sharing the funniest clips.
‘We could see them doing laundry and really intimate things. We could see their kids,’ said the staffer. According to the report, the camera was able to record people’s lives because it was charging.
The post garnered lots of discussion on how to successfully cheat on your significant other with or without a Tesla.
‘Take the bus. Or an Uber. This is not a complicated problem,’ replied one commenter.
‘If you can’t figure out a solution on your own to this relatively minor issue (with an incredibly straightforward solution), then you’re not smart enough to have an affair. You will absolutely screw up somewhere or forget something obvious, and then get caught,’ they continued.
Others offered more tech-heavy solutions, suggesting that the car’s surveillance tech could be seen as a benefit to a would-be adulterer.
‘Also you can use it to your advantage,’ replied another commenter. ‘If [significant other] takes the car, with a bit of home automation [you] can get an alarm when they are driving back. Giving you plenty of free safe time at other location.’
Many commenters were not so solution-oriented: ‘That is YOUR problem entirely for choosing to imprison yourself with an easily surveillable vehicle,’ said one.
When asked whether he had taken risks with the car that he wouldn’t have if he’d known he’d get caught, the original poster told DailyMail.com: ‘I noticed before I got that far.’
As far as the responses from other people on Reddit, he was not surprised.
‘It’s the internet and especially Reddit so people are going to be more critical,’ he said.’
