A Tesla Model S owner in the UK, inspired by recent reported instances of service people and valets going on joyrides with vehicles in their care, decided to create an alert to try to deter any potential misuses of the vehicle.
The alert is combined with Tesla’s ‘Valet mode’ and clearly lists the features of the mode:
- Top speed is limited to 70 MPH
- Power and acceleration are limited to 25% (80KW)
- The glove box and frunk are locked
- Access to certain vehicle settings is disabled
- Access to personal information is restricted
The owner posted the links to the alerts to Reddit and explained the logic behind his project:
Here in the UK there’s been a couple of publicized incidents of cars being abused while in the shop for things like wheel/tyre changes or paint correction. It’s called Valet mode but it’s aimed at anyone that may be given possession of the vehicle in the owners absence.
Ultimately it’s up to the owner to decide if they trust the shop or not, if they don’t but have no choice then they may opt to use something like this.
A good example, though probably extreme, is a recent video that went viral featuring an Audi service mechanic caught on a dashcam camera abusing a vehicle in service and even allegedly doing cocaine during his test drive:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ6hr4Jzdxk
The owner, PhonicUK on Twitter, did two versions of the alert, which Tesla owners can put on the center touchscreen through the browser. The first one is arguably a little passive-aggressive and likely unnecessary for Tesla’s service centers, but the second one is less in your face and more matter-of-factly.
It’s hard to imagine anyone would even attempt to take a joyride with this alert up, but either way, the valet mode already limits the possibilities.
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