--- title: "Tesla Driver Freaked Out After App Allows Him to Drive Off With the Wrong Car" description: "A weird bug is allowing Tesla owners to drive off with somebody else's Tesla by using the EV maker's bespoke smartphone app." date: "2023-03-15" modified: "2023-03-15" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/tesla-driver-unlocks-wrong-car-app" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "apps" - "Model 3" - "tesla" --- # Tesla Driver Freaked Out After App Allows Him to Drive Off With the Wrong Car ![A weird bug is allowing Tesla owners to drive off with somebody else's Tesla by using the EV maker's bespoke smartphone app.]() *\Image: Getty Images\* It's not every day that you catch yourself accidentally driving somebody else's car. According to [the *Washington Post*](), a weird bug is allowing Tesla owners to drive off with somebody else's Tesla by using the EV maker's bespoke smartphone app. Owner Rajesh Randev told *WaPo* that earlier this month, he walked up to a nearly identical white Model 3 in Vancouver without realizing it wasn't his, used the app to unlock it, and drove around a bit before realizing that it wasn't, in fact, his car. Randev said it took him about 15 minutes of driving the stranger's Tesla to realize something was amiss: there was a crack in the windshield that hadn't been there before, and a phone charger was missing from where he usually kept his. It was around the time he noticed the missing charger cable that Randev said his phone buzzed, alerting him to a new text message from an unknown number. "Do you drive a Tesla?" the unknown texter asked. Randev responded affirmatively, and the other person texted back that they thought he may be "driving the wrong car." Understandably, the mix-up left him feeling pretty wigged out. "It’s such an expensive technology," Randev, who works as an immigration consultant, told *WaPo*. "More than $70,000 to get this car. And my family is not feeling safe right now." The other car was, per the report, owned by Mahmoud Esaeyh, who had let his brother Mohammed borrow the car while he was at home. The brother was, even more unsettlingly, able to get into Randev's car using Mahmoud's key card, and once he was inside, he realized that it wasn't the right one. Fortunately, the bizarre story has a happy ending. Esaeyh was able to track his car's location using the Tesla app, but unable to lock it remotely, the report notes. So, after finding Randev's phone number on some documents inside his car, the two brothers were able to get in contact with him and swap back cars, all while initially sharing a laugh about the incident. "My friend, you were able to drive my car?" Randev asked Mohammed. "Yes, it was very fun," the Esaeyh brother responded. While this specific situation was handled amicably – Randev even got permission from Esaeyh to keep driving his car because he needed to pick his kids up from school — it's nevertheless another stark reminder that Tesla seems to have some glaring [bugs]() to iron out in its software. "If just a normal person was able to get access \[to someone else’s car\] due to malfunction or software or whatever reason..." he told the *WaPo*, "the hackers can do anything, right?" To add insult to injury, Randev said that he got stonewalled when he tried to email Tesla about the situation. "It’s very frustrating," he said. "I even tweeted \[at CEO\] Elon Musk." Both men said they intend to keep driving their respective Teslas because of how much they save on gas, but they're nonetheless irked by the incident. "I cannot throw the car away because I don’t feel safe about it," Esaeyh said. "But to be honest, it’s kind of scary sometimes. I’m afraid that thing may happen again." **More on Teslas:** [*Environmentalist Group Files "Criminal Charges" Against Tesla, Accusing It of "Water Pollution"*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()