Massive Tesla Outage Leaves Drivers Unable To Start Their Cars Worldwide
Image via Tesla
Over the weekend, Tesla drivers reported they had been locked out of their cars due to an issue with the automaker’s app. An error message was preventing them from connecting to their vehicles and starting their cars.
“I’m stuck an hour away from home because I normally use my phone to start [my] car,” one owner tweeted, according to the BBC.
A South Korean driver took to tweeting the brand’s founder personally, with Elon Musk replying that he was “checking” the matter. He then said the app was returning online.
On Friday, November 19, over 500 users had reported an error with the app on tracking site DownDetector, though the problem seemed to be resolved for most just hours later.
“Apologies, we will take measures to ensure this doesn’t happen again,” said Musk.
According to Stuart Masson, editor of The Car Expert, such an outage highlighted the issue of being overly-reliant on technology, especially on servers which are prone to blackouts from time to time.
“Technology makes things convenient, but relies on a server working 100% of the time. It’s the same as leaving the house without my credit cards, expecting to pay for things with my smartphone. If we are reliant on one mechanism all the time, we can be caught out,” he explained.
A similar sentiment was underlined by David Bailey, a Professor at the Birmingham Business School, who has a Tesla of his own.
He told the BBC that Tesla could be a victim of its own success, allowing its customers to rely on cutting-edge technology—such as starting their cars with their smartphones—that a technical blip could cause huge issues.
“Although of course you can use a key to open the car too, the natural instinct of many Tesla drivers, who are buying one of the most high tech models in the market, is to rely on technology.”
[via BBC, cover image via Tesla]
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