“All the displays go absolute, the sounds will be off and of course the handbrake occurs, lurching it onto a finish”.
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The researchers first had to physically access the vehicle via an Ethernet cable which made it more hard than other hacks, but later were able to access the Model S remotely.
They will explain the hack in detail at cyber-security conference in Las Vegas on Friday.
Tesla could not be immediately reached for comment outside regular U.S. business hours. Since this attack requires physical access inside the vehicle, it makes this less alarming than the Jeep Cherokee incident. The company has confirmed the elements of the story while saying that it has already provided a software patch to owners.
This was another key safety feature that earned Tesla praise from the security researchers.
Tesla has been in the midst of a global expansion, and is preparing to launch its new Model X, a crossover designed to boost the market appeal for the company. They then spent two years digging into the car’s architecture, ultimately digging up six vulnerabilities that they helped Tesla resolve.
We learned this week the Tesla Model S can be hacked. Cars have become rolling computers, making them objects of desire for hackers, who are having a picnic finding ways to hack into cars’ operating systems.
Elon Musk told the world that we would eventually get a “solid metal snake” that automatically recharges Tesla cars, and he has come through on that promise.
However, due to Tesla’s internet connection, the American firm were able to update the software on the affected cars, and protecting the auto against hacks.
In response to the FT report, Tesla Motors has issued a statement, “Our security team works closely with the security research community to ensure that we continue to protect our systems against vulnerabilities by constantly stress-testing, validating, and updating our safeguards”.
Electric-only automaker Tesla reported its second-quarter financial results Thursday, announcing a net loss of $182 million despite record deliveries of its mainstay Model S Sedan.
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Tesla changed its answer for how many electric cars it expects to deliver this year, sending its stock price down more than 6 percent Wednesday afternoon.
