Cybertruck Weaponized

[Diehard]

In light of the most recent hack, it is not a stretch to think if Tesla has not already been hacked, it is certainly on a To-Do list. With FSD being an integral part of Tesla strategy for future and with the price currently at $10K, there is little incentive for Tesla to share the information when hacked (if they are even aware of it). At the minimum our Tesla’s are perfect spies with eyes and ears everywhere. At the more extreme end if Putin wants to take out a senator or an ambassador crossing D.C. streets it makes a lot more sense to wake up a Tesla than sending an operative to a hostile territory. Now if he wants the job done right, he probably would wake up a Cybertruck not a Model 3. I am not sure how much of this is science fiction and how much of it has already happened. What I am curious about is your security concerns when you were deciding to order FSD. And your Security concerns outside the FSD operation.

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[craz]

It’s like anything else, you have to trust that Tesla has done their due diligence in designing safe and secure systems. They’ve been proactive, hosting hack-a-thons and things if that sort against their products, but nation states aren’t gonna participate in those - they’ll have their own labs. So you can’t prepare for everything, but you can mitigate as much risk as possible through your own testing and safety minded systems design. But the same can be said for almost any modern internet connected system, including airliners, trains.... etc, which arguably pose even greater risk.

That being said, I do wonder sometimes what sort of data privacy concessions Tesla had to make with the CCP for them to allow Tesla to be the sole owner of their factory there. It’s probably safe to assume any Chinese market cars in China share their data with the government at the very least.

 

[Frankenblob]

In light of the most recent hack, it is not a stretch to think if Tesla has not already been hacked, it is certainly on a To-Do list. With FSD being an integral part of Tesla strategy for future and with the price currently at $10K, there is little incentive for Tesla to share the information when hacked (if they are even aware of it). At the minimum our Tesla’s are perfect spies with eyes and ears everywhere. At the more extreme end if Putin wants to take out a senator or an ambassador crossing D.C. streets it makes a lot more sense to wake up a Tesla than sending an operative to a hostile territory. Now if he wants the job done right, he probably would wake up a Cybertruck not a Model 3. I am not sure how much of this is science fiction and how much of it has already happened. What I am curious about is your security concerns when you were deciding to order FSD. And your Security concerns outside the FSD operation.

The See Eye Eh already mentioned how easy it would be to remove undesireables that way.

One of many reasons I want a "floating" emergency handbrake that is completely and totally independant of ALL electronics, one that can seize the wheels and shred all gears/motors if an "adverse event" by a Chinese/Russian hacker came about.

 

[Diehard]

The See Eye Eh already mentioned how easy it would be to remove undesireables that way.

Can you expand on this reference? Where can I find what you are referring to? I always thought bad guys have the upper hand. Even though the owner of the software have the home court advantage, good guys need to be a lot smarter because They have to think of every venerability and bad guys have to get only one right. Now being smarter mean investing a lot more on security. That usually means money lost with nothing to show for it for the investors which is why we see more and more successful hacks every day.

I love your kill switch idea (not necessarily shredding part but killing the power to wheels and going manual on steering).

 

[Jhodgesatmb]

In light of the most recent hack, it is not a stretch to think if Tesla has not already been hacked, it is certainly on a To-Do list. With FSD being an integral part of Tesla strategy for future and with the price currently at $10K, there is little incentive for Tesla to share the information when hacked (if they are even aware of it). At the minimum our Tesla’s are perfect spies with eyes and ears everywhere. At the more extreme end if Putin wants to take out a senator or an ambassador crossing D.C. streets it makes a lot more sense to wake up a Tesla than sending an operative to a hostile territory. Now if he wants the job done right, he probably would wake up a Cybertruck not a Model 3. I am not sure how much of this is science fiction and how much of it has already happened. What I am curious about is your security concerns when you were deciding to order FSD. And your Security concerns outside the FSD operation.

Tesla holds competitions for hackers to crack their security and gives prizes to those who succeed. They get stronger every day. I would trust them over just about everyone else (and certainly over the government).

 

[Jhodgesatmb]

The See Eye Eh already mentioned how easy it would be to remove undesireables that way.

One of many reasons I want a "floating" emergency handbrake that is completely and totally independant of ALL electronics, one that can seize the wheels and shred all gears/motors if an "adverse event" by a Chinese/Russian hacker came about.

That is pretty extreme paranoia. So your view is “better dead than red” as opposed to “better red than dead”. I often wonder why people consider these other governments and political ideologies to be so wrong. I like some aspects of our political system and economy and I dislike others. I think the same way about others. I think it is much ‘grayer’ than you make it out to be. But shred away....it’s your choice.

 

[Diehard]

That is pretty extreme paranoia. So your view is “better dead than red” as opposed to “better red than dead”. I often wonder why people consider these other governments and political ideologies to be so wrong. I like some aspects of our political system and economy and I dislike others. I think the same way about others. I think it is much ‘grayer’ than you make it out to be. But shred away....it’s your choice.

Politics aside, all of this assumes you are in the vehicle. If I was playing the bad guy in this movie, I would get around the system that requires your phone or key close by and your booty on the seat and send the vehicle on the mission on it’s own.

 

[Jhodgesatmb]

Politics aside, all of this assumes you are in the vehicle. If I was playing the bad guy in this movie, I would get around the system that requires your phone or key close by and your booty on the seat and send the vehicle on the mission on it’s own.

Personally I have always preferred a manual parking brake to a park ‘gear’ that sets the parking brake, so I understand the perspective.

 

[Crissa]

Well, vehicle law states that the brakes have to be strong enough to stop the motor's influence on the wheels.

So that's already there, but it's the foot pedal, not the parking brake.

-Crissa

 

[Diehard]

Well, vehicle law states that the brakes have to be strong enough to stop the motor's influence on the wheels.

So that's already there, but it's the foot pedal, not the parking brake.

-Crissa

Do you know if there is a software middleman between the break pedal and the break pads in Tesla or the software is only passive and a side operation? If it is the middleman, it is prone to hacking.

 

[T3slaDad]

Not to be Debby Downer on other brands, but hackers are typically going for the path of lease resistance first. Obviously nation states and threat actors have more incentive to go for the harder hacks, but that doesn't mean that's all they look for.

Tesla is always learning, growing, updating, and pushing for better security. Check out all the other brands that have security risks that don't get patched, updated, etc. Need an example? Look at the Jeep Cherokee hack that came out years ago. It's a vulnerability found on various models and affects millions of cars. Patched? Maybe for new models going forward. Did any existing cars get the fix? No.

So yeah, Tesla is kind of more secure than the competition in that aspect...

 

[Crissa]

Do you know if there is a software middleman between the break pedal and the break pads in Tesla or the software is only passive and a side operation? If it is the middleman, it is prone to hacking.

There is not, to my knowledge, but there are two sensors on the brake pedal to tell how you're pressing it. Default is to shut off the motor when you press it, as well.

-Crissa

 

[Sirfun]

There is not, to my knowledge, but there are two sensors on the brake pedal to tell how you're pressing it. Default is to shut off the motor when you press it, as well.

-Crissa

I wish the brakes could have stopped my motorcycle when it got stuck on full throttle, but NOPE I got taken for a wild ride, until I crashed. A kill switch is a must!!

 

[Crissa]

I wish the brakes could have stopped my motorcycle when it got stuck on full throttle, but NOPE I got taken for a wild ride, until I crashed. A kill switch is a must!!

The brakes are supposed to be able to stop the motor. But you have to lock them hard and stay on them so they don't heat up.

I find I use the kill switch all the time on my Zero - since it doesn't stall, that's the only thing that keeps it from taking off or fighting me parking it while I'm not actively riding it. Tho sometimes I use the throttle while walking it, 'cause it's heavy to push.

-Crissa

 

[AndrewB]

Hackers would be much more likely to hack another vehicle. Tesla would likely be much harder to break than a BMW or VW.