Sat Nov 20, 2021, 11:53 AM

Tesla drivers left unable to start their cars after outage

Tesla drivers say they have been locked out of their cars after an outage struck the carmaker's app.

Dozens of owners posted on social media about seeing an error message on the mobile app that was preventing them from connecting to their vehicles.

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk personally responded to one complaint from a driver in South Korea, saying on Twitter: "Checking."

Mr Musk later said the app was coming back online.

The Tesla app is used as a key by drivers to unlock and start their cars.

Owners posted a multitude of complaints online about not being able to use their vehicles.

"I'm stuck an hour away from home because I normally use my phone to start [my] car," one owner tweeted.

About 500 users reported an error on the app at around 16:40 ET (21:40 GMT) on Friday, according to the outage tracking site DownDetector. Five hours later, there were just over 60 reports of an error.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-59357306
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10 replies	Author	Time	Post
Tesla drivers left unable to start their cars after outage (Original post)	Jilly_in_VA	Nov 2021	OP
Wow, no backup way to start it?	USALiberal	Nov 2021	#1
Yes there is	Zorro	Nov 2021	#2
Ok, so not that big a deal? Nt	USALiberal	Nov 2021	#3
Not really	Zorro	Nov 2021	#4
Correct. I always have my key card in my wallet although I very rarely need to use it.	beaglelover	Nov 2021	#7
And that only happens if you close the app on your phone	Miguelito Loveless	Nov 2021	#8
Two ways	SmartJellyfish	Nov 2021	#5
Thanks!! Nt	USALiberal	Nov 2021	#10
Of course there is.	Voltaire2	Nov 2021	#6
Thanks! Yes, people love to hate him!	USALiberal	Nov 2021	#9

Response to Jilly_in_VA (Original post)

Sat Nov 20, 2021, 12:08 PM

USALiberal (10,394 posts)

1. Wow, no backup way to start it?

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Response to USALiberal (Reply #1)

Sat Nov 20, 2021, 12:12 PM

Zorro (14,371 posts)

2. Yes there is

Depending on the model, Tesla has a key fob or key card that can be used to drive the car.

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Response to Zorro (Reply #2)

Sat Nov 20, 2021, 12:14 PM

USALiberal (10,394 posts)

3. Ok, so not that big a deal? Nt

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Response to USALiberal (Reply #3)

Sat Nov 20, 2021, 12:15 PM

Zorro (14,371 posts)

4. Not really

There have been some reported cases of people leaving their fobs/cards at home and ending up driving to areas that don't have cell phone coverage, and end up not being able to drive after getting out of the car. But they're idiots.

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Response to Zorro (Reply #4)

Sat Nov 20, 2021, 12:24 PM

beaglelover (2,638 posts)

7. Correct. I always have my key card in my wallet although I very rarely need to use it.

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Response to Zorro (Reply #4)

Sat Nov 20, 2021, 12:57 PM

Miguelito Loveless (4,049 posts)

8. And that only happens if you close the app on your phone

If you leave the app running, it is already “logged in”, so you can still unlock and drive the car through Bluetooth connection. If you close the app, it would be unable to authenticate, meaning you’d have to use the keycard. I drove on multiple errands yesterday completely unaware of the outage.

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Response to USALiberal (Reply #1)

Sat Nov 20, 2021, 12:19 PM

SmartJellyfish (46 posts)

5. Two ways

Your primary way to unlock and start the car is Bluetooth connection. No internet or app required. There are also two card keys provided which you should be carrying one on your person like a credit card or driver's license. Anyone getting locked out is not using the car correctly.

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Response to SmartJellyfish (Reply #5)

Sat Nov 20, 2021, 01:06 PM

USALiberal (10,394 posts)