German Researchers Find 'Elon Mode' Hidden Mode In Tesla That Could Hazard Drivers

Elon Musk, the owner of the Tesla factory, has a special mode. (photo: x @MarioNawfal)

JAKARTA - Tesla subscribers have understood that this company's vehicle has not fully offered the full autonomous driving capability. Although Tesla's Autopilot mode can take over certain tasks such as centralizing the lane, drivers still have to touch the steering wheel to show readiness to take over at any time.

However, there appears to be a hidden mode known as the 'Elon Mode' attached to Tesla cars, and if activated, it can cause more accidents.

German researchers managed to hack the Tesla Model 3 by manipulating its internal circuit, using equipment worth about 600 euros (Rp. 10.2 million). They can not only access critical data about the car, but also find codes confirming the existence of this setup, which Tesla has not officially acknowledged.

Did you try the “Elon mode”? pic.twitter.com/8SE9bhUJMV

— Mert Cakmak (@umitmertcakmak) December 30, 2023

Did you try the Elon mode? pic.twitter.com/8SE9bhuJMV

The research was conducted by three doctoral students, namely Christian Werling, Niclas K\"uhnapfel, and Hans Niklas Jacob, from Technische Universit Berlin (TU Berlin). The results of their research were presented at the Chaos Computer Club hacking congress in Hamburg, Germany, on Wednesday, December 27.

"Using a voltage glitching attack on Tesla Autopilot, we managed to get full access rights on the system," they said. "This attack allowed us to extract arbitrary user code and data from the system."

According to the team, 'voltage glitching' requires physical access to car circuits, so their hacking cannot be done remotely. Voltage glitching involves intentionally causing brief fluctuations in circuit power supply, which on Tesla cars can cause disruption.

This disruption allows German hackers to gain unauthorized access to car data and extract sensitive data from the device's memory. This includes personal information about drivers such as contacts in phone books and calendar appointments, as well as data on locations where cars visit.

However, experts also discovered a code confirming Elon Mode's setup reduced driver monitoring alerts. This allows drivers to drive handless, although this contradicts Tesla's official recommendations and is potentially dangerous. It's not clear how the Model 3 driver can activate Elon Mode.

There is speculation that Elon Mode is dedicated to Tesla's own CEO and some of the customers he chooses. Tesla's autopilot uses camera data and sensors to create a world representation around the car, which is shown virtually on the car screen.