Chinese Company Hacks Tesla Model S: Autopilot Proven Faulty?

Sep 21, 2016 04:00 AM EDT | Eve C.

Tesla has been facing issues regarding the Autopilot system. But the latest news could possibly be an eye-opener for the company. A group of Chinese security team was able to infiltrate one of their Tesla Model S units, even if it is parked or moving.

A motive for hacking into one of the company's units is yet to be determined, though it is possible that the hackers are trying to prove to the automaking giant that a part of their units are faulty.

But there are requirements before they can hack the system. The driver would have to connect to a malicious Wi-Fi hotspot, and then use the web browser in order to be able to gain access.

The Keen Security team at Chinese company Tencent warns Tesla owners to be proactive:

"PLEASE DO UPDATE THE FIRMWARE OF YOUR TESLA CAR TO THE LATEST VERSION TO ENSURE THAT THE ISSUES ARE FIXED AND AVOID POTENTIAL DRIVING SAFETY RISKS," as written on the company's blog.

They then reported to Tesla about its security vulnerabilities. The automaker has acknowledged the said reports and has allegedly promised to fix the loopholes within a week, according to CNBC.

The car company issued a statement regarding the news report. Tesla made it clear that they already took action right after the notification. Below is an excerpt of the statement:

"We engage with the security research community to test the security of our products so that we can fix potential vulnerabilities before they result in issues for our customers. We commend the research team behind today's demonstration and plan to reward them under our bug bounty program, which was set up to encourage this type of research."

This could be a wake-up call to Tesla. The automaker has been in the headlines as of late due to car incidents allegedly caused by its Autopilot.

The Florida car crash is one of them. A Tesla Model S collided underneath a truck after the system was not able to detect the incoming huge vehicle. Meanwhile, watch the video below:

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