You always have to watch for bad-faith viral videos.
A musician who goes by Big Huey this week claimed that Tesla deactivated his Cybertruck intentionally. Tesla denies this. But it got the internet nervous: Can Tesla seize control of your EV? The short answer is maybe.
Here’s what we know.
Cybertruck Controversy
Big Huey claimed that Tesla took control of his Cybetruck as part of a “cease and desist” order that he received from the automaker after calling out the Cybertruck by name in one of his songs. So he told his followers that Tesla had made him a target and ultimately, had his EV manually disabled while in traffic.
Prior to Tesla going on record to dispel Big Huey’s claims, as first reported by The Verge, others online highlighted how his video seemed suspicious.
Tech enthusiast and TikTok user Carter (@carterpcs) posted a viral clip that’s accrued more than 705,000 views; it’s dedicated to debunking Big Huey’s video.
Carter begins his video with a snippet of Huey’s own footage, which shows a recording of a Cybertruck’s infotainment screen. It displays a scary-looking message, and at the top of the alert is a red box with black text that reads: “Tesla Cybertruck De-Activated. Critical issue detected… contact customer service. Comply with cease & desist to re-activate.”
Additionally, the screen indicates that an update for the vehicle “failed” and that whoever’s driving the car needs to “return [it] to [the] dealer.”
Through the EV’s windshield, busy highway traffic can be seen passing by.
“I’m in the middle of traffic, bro. Look at this [expletive] bro,” the driver says, moving the car’s steering wheel on camera from side to side. He continues, “I can’t, everything is locked. Cybertruck deactivated, look at this [expletive] bro.”
But Carter is unimpressed by Big Huey.
“Turn off that YouTube video and put your car back in drive. What are we doing?” Carter says in response, visibly frustrated.
His video cuts to the legitimate warning signs on Tesla infotainment screens that he’s seen.
“Nothing inside of any Tesla looks like this. It’s not even scaled right to the screen,” Carter argues. “And finally, why would it tell you to return it to a dealer when Tesla does not have dealerships? Just blocking this highway for absolutely no reason.”
Ultimately, Carter says that Big Huey’s stunt was able to gain traction because of a world of bad-faith online misinformation.
“People will believe anything nowadays,” he says.
Can Tesla Remotely Disable Your Car?
InsideEVs reached out to cybersecurity expert and journalist Mikael Thalen for further information on whether or not Tesla has the capability to remotely disable vehicles. “There’s never been any formal confirmation that Tesla can remotely disable a Cybertruck, especially while it’s in motion,” he tells InsideEVs via DM. “Tesla may be able to limit certain vehicle functions in cases of theft, but a full shutdown or remote disabling of a vehicle in motion has never been shown, and Tesla denies it has the capability.”
Indeed, the EV manufacturer stated online recently that it “does not disable vehicles remotely,” but there have been reports indicating some features have indeed been invalidated over the air.
For example, the Model S driver who brought their car into a Tesla service appointment had 80 miles of range locked behind a paywall. Technically, their car was registered in the system as a Model S 60, despite a previous owner upgrading the car to a 90-kilowatt battery while it was under warranty.
Tesla techs tried getting the car owner to fork over $4,500 in order to unlock the battery’s full capacity. Ultimately, the driver said that the problem was remedied without him having to pay any additional cash.
Folks who are wary of allowing remote access to their cars can head into their car’s settings and toggle this feature off.
As to whether or not Teslas can remotely disable a vehicle, Next Moto Gen writes that there are specific scenarios where “remote disablement” can be engaged, according to the outlet. The two mentioned have to do with law enforcement intervention, i.e. if a vehicle is confirmed to have been stolen.The Next Web in 2018 interviewed a police department that had successfully experimented with this very scenario.
Additionally, remote disablement of Tesla vehicles can purportedly occur when payments are owed on a vehicle and they aren’t up to date.
Tesla Responds
However, an X post published to Tesla’s social media account vehemently denies that it, as a manufacturer, disables vehicles. The post contains a snippet of the same Big Huey video Carter criticized. “This is fake – that’s not our screen. Tesla does NOT disable vehicles remotely,” the brand averred online.
Big Huey’s uploads regarding the manufactured Cybertruck drama are mostly deleted from his Instagram account. In one such deleted clip, he shows off a “cease and desist” letter. The note’s verbiage indicates that using the word “Cybertruck” violates intellectual property laws.
Remote kill switches on traditional vehicles do indeed exist. This Legal Clarity post informs concerned drivers how they can “safely and legally” remove these kill switches, which are installed by some dealerships to stop customers’ vehicles from driving cars they’re leasing or financing, due to non-payment.
Other Remotely Disabled Tesla Reports
CarScoops reported on one Tesla user who claims that their paid-in-full Tesla was remotely disabled, seemingly due to a financial clerical error. The driver alleges that the vehicle, which he and his father purchased, “was immobilized and…demanding a password” whenever he tried putting the vehicle into gear. Moreover, he claimed that the car was deleted from his Tesla mobile application. He and his father thought that emails sent from Tesla asking for payments on the vehicle were phishing scams as they had purchased the car outright.
However, he soon learned that this wasn’t the case.
Upon leaving the vehicle at work while waiting to get in touch with a rep at Tesla to clear up the password issue, the driver received a call from his boss. His employer informed him that there was a tow truck at his place of work attempting to cart the car away.
Ultimately, the driver learned that Tesla had failed to cash the bank check they gave to pay for the vehicle. Following this, both he and his father were asked to pick the Tesla up at a tow yard, but the driver says they weren’t offered any compensation for the hassle, or even an apology for the mishap.
InsideEVs has reached out to Big Huey via Instagram DM for further comment.
