But what if your smartphone app glitches? You could be stuck not being able to use your car, which seems to be happening to Tesla owners around the world.
On Friday a number of Twitter users reported getting a “500 server error” when trying to use the Tesla app. That indicates something has gone wrong with an Internet server the app is trying to connect to.
“Still stuck in Seoul” wrote Jaehwan Cho on Twitter after earlier reporting the server error when trying to use it with his Tesla Model 3.
The website Downdetector showed a large spike in reported Tesla server problems at around 5pm on Friday. It is unknown exactly how many Tesla owners are affected by the outage, or how many are locked out of their cars. Tesla, which hasn’t engaged with professional news media for over a year, did not respond to a request for comment.
Tesla cars also come with a key card that works like the wireless key fob many vehicles have today. So in a pinch, Tesla owners can still use that to get into their cars and start them.
The smartphone app also shows things like the car’s level of battery charge and whether it’s charging.