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In 2023, security researchers demonstrated that physical access and a hardware fault-injection attack could give them root access to certain AMD-based Tesla infotainment systems and activate some software-locked features, including heated rear seats and Acceleration Boost. They did not unlock Full Self-Driving (FSD), and the demonstration was not a plug-and-play upgrade. It also exposed sensitive data stored in the vehicle and a hardware-bound authentication key.
What the Tesla jailbreak actually demonstrated
In August 2023, researchers associated with Technische Universität Berlin and independent researcher Christian Werling described an attack on Tesla vehicles using an AMD-based infotainment platform. BleepingComputer reported that the researchers obtained root access, extracted a hardware-bound RSA key used for Tesla service-network authentication, and activated software-locked seat heating and Acceleration Boost.
The features were software-locked: the demonstration did not physically add missing hardware. It showed that researchers could bypass some controls on the infotainment platform, not that every Tesla model or paid feature could be unlocked.
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- Demonstrated: activation of heated rear seats and Acceleration Boost, as reported by BleepingComputer in 2023.
- Not demonstrated: Full Self-Driving. BleepingComputer reported the researcher explicitly corrected claims that the jailbreak could unlock FSD.
- Not tested: regional self-driving or navigation enablement. TechCrunch reported that this would require more reverse engineering.
How the attack worked
At a high level, the researchers used voltage glitching against the AMD processor and its secure-boot trust chain. A carefully timed electrical fault can cause a processor to behave differently from its intended operation. TechCrunch quoted Werling describing the idea as tricking the CPU “into doing something else.” BleepingComputer reported that the researchers then reverse-engineered the boot flow to obtain a root shell.
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The proof of concept involved physical access, soldering, and electronics work. BleepingComputer reported that the setup used a Teensy 4.0 board and roughly $100 of off-the-shelf electronics in 2023. Those components were lab tools for the researchers’ demonstration, not a guaranteed consumer unlock kit.
Why the security and privacy impact mattered
Root access exposed more than feature controls. TechCrunch and BleepingComputer reported that researchers could access information stored on the vehicle, including contacts, calendar entries, call logs, visited locations, Wi-Fi passwords, and email-session cookies or tokens. The exact information available can depend on what is stored or used in a particular vehicle.
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The extracted hardware-bound authentication key was also significant. BleepingComputer reported that it could enable impersonation of a vehicle identity on Tesla’s network and support further investigation into unsupported-region operation or independent repair and modification. That is a security capability with potential consequences; it is not evidence that the researchers remotely took control of vehicles or demonstrated a remote attack.
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Did Tesla mitigate the vulnerability?
BleepingComputer reported that Tesla told the researchers the rear-seat-heater proof of concept relied on old firmware. On newer versions, a valid Tesla signature checked by the Gateway was required. The same report said the researchers could still extract the key on the latest software update available to them at the time of publication.
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That account supports describing the issue as partially mitigated in the versions discussed in 2023—not as fully fixed, and not as proof that current vehicles remain vulnerable. The cited reporting does not establish the status of later firmware or whether subsequent changes addressed the key-extraction issue.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What Tesla owners and researchers should take from it
For owners
- Do not treat the demonstration as a safe or supported way to activate paid features. It required hardware work and could create safety, warranty, privacy, and legal risks.
- Because the researchers reported access to sensitive vehicle-stored information, use care when entering or syncing personal accounts and data with an infotainment system.
- Keep vehicle software up to date, while recognizing that the 2023 reporting alone cannot establish the security status of a vehicle’s current software.
For security researchers
Tesla’s Product Security policy directs researchers to use vehicles they own or are authorized to test, avoid privacy violations and unsafe conditions, and report vehicle issues through Tesla’s vulnerability-reporting process. Tesla says it uses Bugcrowd as a platform for rewarding issues. Authorization and safety boundaries matter especially in vehicle research: a lab demonstration should not put occupants, other road users, or a vehicle owner’s data at risk.
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