> Waking up the car
The native Tesla mobile application wakes the car by sending an SMS to the internal SIM card number. This number is registered in the Tesla database.
When using a custom external SIM, you must manually send an SMS (with arbitrary text) to your SIM number. Any SMS will wake up the car, and it will be available via the Tesla mobile app.
Don’t forget to unsubscribe your SIM from any newsletters to avoid false wakeups and extra power drain.
Wow..
vld_chk 20 days ago [-]
Does it mean that if internal DB of internal numbers will be leaked anytime in the future, it will give to anyone power to wake up all Tesla cars in a few clicks?
GeorgeCurtis 20 days ago [-]
Certainly sounds like it.
boredatoms 20 days ago [-]
Does this mean spam sms could be waking up my car even without a sim swap?
bobmcnamara 20 days ago [-]
If they did it right, these would be setup with their own range of numbers that can't be routed from anywhere outside of their carrier and servers.
Cell companies have a word for a setup like this but it escapes me.
2bluesc 20 days ago [-]
Closed User Group (CUG)?
bobmcnamara 19 days ago [-]
That's it!
systemswizard 20 days ago [-]
Tesla has a custom APN
fresh_geezer 20 days ago [-]
APN does not influence SMS (nor phone number routing) though.
kimos 20 days ago [-]
I think about this every time my car is slow to wake or doesn’t wake when in a spot with poor signal, it’s SMS fuckery.
Regardless of all their problems now, decisions like this that made Tesla successful. Need a low power always on way to send the car a signal to wake from a mobile device? Don’t invent and build some complicated hardware and protocol, just use SMS and a small cell phone board.
Wonder if this could work with the Calyx sim now that they have BYOD.
gruez 20 days ago [-]
As per the OP, there's no advantage of doing this if you're in a region that Tesla officially supports, because Tesla already has free connectivity with the free built-in SIM. The only use of this is if you're in a region where Tesla isn't supported, and thus Tesla won't have the necessary roaming agreements for its built-in SIM to work. The Calyx sim only supports US and Puerto Rico, so it's of no use. There's no privacy benefit either, because the phone can still upload your location/telemetry regardless of what SIM you're using.
dawnerd 19 days ago [-]
Maybe I misunderstood and assumed this would allow premium connectivity as Tesla is no longer footing the data bill. But if that’s not the case then ya it’s kinda pointless.
NewJazz 20 days ago [-]
Wouldn't this be relevant for those who want to decouple their car from Tesla tracking? Obviously only a partial solution, but still.
gruez 19 days ago [-]
How are you decoupling from Tesla tracking by using your own SIM? The car has a built-in GPS so even if it can't track you by cell tower pings, it can upload your location to Tesla servers all day long.
NewJazz 19 days ago [-]
I'm sorry did you miss the part where I said "obviously, only a partial solution"?
gruez 19 days ago [-]
It's unclear whether Tesla even does any tracking through the cellular connection, when it can get far better accuracy through the GPS receiver and myriad of cameras/sensors in the car itself.
dzhiurgis 19 days ago [-]
Why they didn’t use eSIM?
pinoy420 20 days ago [-]
[dead]
adamnemecek 20 days ago [-]
[flagged]
rogerrogerr 20 days ago [-]
Super easy to imagine, especially as the used prices have dropped lately. Some very good deals out there. (Especially if you live in a place where politically motivated vandals aren’t feeling emboldened).
SoftTalker 20 days ago [-]
How are insurance rates, given recent events?
rogerrogerr 20 days ago [-]
My policy renewed a couple weeks ago and went down. I’m a 25yo driving a 500hp car and paying $80/mo. No tickets or history. Full coverage with healthy limits.
It’s about 30% more than when I had a Leaf, which seems more than fair. I wouldn’t insure me in this car for $80/mo.
toomuchtodo 20 days ago [-]
Tesla insurance? Asking because they’re taking a bath on the financials so that would track.
Great rate! I’m early 40s paying ~$220/vehicle/month for four Teslas with State Farm in FL.
rogerrogerr 20 days ago [-]
Yeah, I feel like I’ve accidentally fallen into a weird niche with them, like I got put in a super low risk group by accident. I don’t dare ask, lol.
(I also have a home policy with them; that might help)
rogerrogerr 20 days ago [-]
Also - Florida is no-fault. Guessing that’s a big chunk of the difference. Plus higher chance of paying out comprehensive coverage for flood damaged cars.
tazjin 20 days ago [-]
I flagged this because the site runs some Javascript for me that attempts a redirect to a spam page (which uBlock caught). Looks like there might be some malicious code injected there.
grishka 20 days ago [-]
I can reproduce this. It might be only happening for Russian IPs because it does not happen if I use my VPN.
(The author is Ukrainian, so nothing surprises me at this point)
NewJazz 20 days ago [-]
I can't reproduce that.
ThePowerOfFuet 20 days ago [-]
Try with a Russian IP.
mgiampapa 20 days ago [-]
No thank you, I have all of Russia/China/Belarus's normal IP space blocked at the router in both directions. I don't expect it will protect me from anything, but it's a great way to not accidentally step into bullshit.
redundantly 20 days ago [-]
Ditto. Viewed it just fine via Safari on iOS. I'm guessing GP accidentally triggered the form for the comment system.
Rendered at 01:03:30 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) with Vercel.
Wow..
Cell companies have a word for a setup like this but it escapes me.
Regardless of all their problems now, decisions like this that made Tesla successful. Need a low power always on way to send the car a signal to wake from a mobile device? Don’t invent and build some complicated hardware and protocol, just use SMS and a small cell phone board.
It’s about 30% more than when I had a Leaf, which seems more than fair. I wouldn’t insure me in this car for $80/mo.
Even Tesla's Insurance Arm Is Getting Wrecked Right Now - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43947690 - May 2025
(I also have a home policy with them; that might help)
(The author is Ukrainian, so nothing surprises me at this point)