Imagine this state of affairs. You’re driving down the freeway in a spiffy new Tesla together with your legs stretched out because the Autopilot driver-assistance function maintains your velocity when abruptly the automotive’s stereo begins blasting at full drive. During your panicked scramble to tug over, you discover your home windows surprisingly begin reducing as if managed by a ghost. Then, out of nowhere, the doorways abruptly spring open.

Those are simply a number of the high-stakes hijinks 19-year safety researcher says he can pull after remotely hacking into a minimum of 25 Teslas unfold out throughout 13 international locations. The researcher, named David Colombo, posted some particulars by way of a Twitter thread on Tuesday the place he claimed he might remotely run instructions on the affected automobiles with out their house owners’ realizing. In addition to adjusting stereo quantity and manipulating the automobile’s doorways and home windows, Colombo claimed he might additionally begin the automobiles remotely, get hold of their precise location and decide whether or not or not a driver was current within the automotive.

Colombo didn’t present particular particulars on how he obtained entry to the automobile’s system however famous it wasn’t the results of a vulnerability in Tesla’s underlying infrastructure. The researcher claimed he was actively making an attempt to inform the house owners of the affected automobiles, and that he would launch extra technical particulars as soon as the affected drivers had been “able to take appropriate measures.”

Colombo didn’t instantly reply to Gizmodo’s request for remark and Gizmodo couldn’t independently verify the veracity of his findings, so please take them with a grain of salt.

That caveat apart, the researcher’s findings appear to have gotten Tesla’s consideration. In an replace, the researcher mentioned Tesla’s safety group had reached out and was launching its personal investigation into his findings. Gizmodo reached out to Tesla as nicely however hasn’t heard again. (Tesla shut down its PR division in 2020 and limits its public feedback.)

If Colombo’s claims are true, this wouldn’t be the primary time hackers and researchers have gained distant entry to Tesla automobiles. In 2020, a safety researcher from the U.Okay. named Lennert Wouters demonstrated how a vulnerability in Tesla’s keyless entry function might doubtlessly enable unhealthy actors the power to rewrite a key fobs’ firmware over Bluetooth to unlock and doubtlessly steal a Model X automobile.

Then, final yr, a pair of safety researchers had been in a position to remotely hack right into a Tesla’s infotainment system utilizing a drone. In that case, the researchers had been reportedly in a position to remotely unlock doorways, change seat positions, play music, and mess with the local weather management settings.

Tesla addressed every of those vulnerabilities prior to now and maintains an lively bug bounty program the place pre-approved safety researchers can register automobiles for testing. Those researchers in flip can reportedly obtain anyplace from $100-$15,000 for locating a qualifying vulnerability. It’s unclear whether or not or not these rewards would apply to Colombo’s findings.

Regardless, if Colombo’s findings are legit, they might add yet one more headache for Tesla, which in current months has needed to take care of a number of remembers, a federal investigation, and reviews of a primary main crash involving its Full Self Driving beta function.

The most up-to-date recall, which concerned 356,309 Model 3 sedans and 119,009 Model S automobiles, revolved round points with a rearview digicam harness and a misaligned latch within the entrance trunk of sure automobiles. Unlike a earlier recall of 11,704 automobiles that Tesla was in a position to patch by way of an over-the-air replace, it appears some automobiles implicated within the newer recall required bodily repairs in service facilities.

Tesla’s FSD beta can be coming below renewed scrutiny this week in California, the place the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles is reportedly reviewing the function to find out whether or not or not it meets the authorized definition of “autonomous,” The Washington Post notes. That’s doubtlessly vital as a result of recognition of Tesla’s automobiles as autonomous below California legislation might open the corporate as much as new guidelines and laws.

“The DMV has notified Tesla that the department will be initiating further review of the technology on their vehicles, including any expansion of the current programs or features,” a DMV spokeswoman informed the Post. “If the capabilities of the features meet the definition of an autonomous vehicle according to California law and regulations, DMV will take steps to make certain that Tesla operates under the appropriate autonomous vehicle permits.”

Though Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have exaggerated the power of its driver help options prior to now, the corporate has walked these claims again and stated FSD isn’t presently able to full autonomy.