Tesla Parental Controls – What They Do and How to Enable Them

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With software update 2024.26, Tesla introduced Parental Controls, a long-awaited feature designed to give parents greater peace of mind while their teens are on the road.

This addition reinforces Tesla’s reputation for safety, offering more controls and monitoring for young drivers. Let’s explore what Parental Controls can do and how to enable them.

What They Do

Tesla’s Parental Controls lets you set restrictions in the vehicle, creating a safer driving experience—especially for young drivers. These controls not only limit certain vehicle functions but also keep parents or owners informed about the vehicle’s location and usage in real-time.

There are four main features of Parental Controls, including reduced speed and acceleration, enforced safety features, and late-night driving alerts. Each of these main features can be turned on or off individually.

Reduced Speed & Acceleration

The standout feature of Tesla’s Parental Controls is the ability to set a maximum speed limit and restrict acceleration to Chill Mode.

By limiting acceleration to Chill Mode, the vehicle reduces horsepower and torque output, making it an excellent safeguard for young or inexperienced drivers.

For Maximum Speed, you can set a limit starting from 50 mph (80 km/h) and up. However, keep in mind that certain driving situations, such as merging onto a highway or passing another vehicle, may require a temporary higher speed.

Additionally, performance-related features are restricted for Parental Control profiles:

• Track Mode is disabled on Performance models or any vehicle that supports it—so no late-night donuts in the parking lot.

• Launch Mode, which is only available on Plaid models is also greyed out, preventing high-powered acceleration.

Enforce Safety Features

Parental controls are enabled in this vehicle, enforcing certain safety features

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Tesla’s Parental Controls also enforce key safety features, ensuring they remain active while Parental Controls are enabled. These features include:

• Speed Limit Warning

  • The speed limit warning warns the driver when they go 5 mph (8 kp/h) above the speed limit and can not be adjusted. Audio and visual alerts are enforced.

• Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB)

• Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

• Obstacle-Aware Acceleration

• Automatic Blind Spot Camera

• Blind Spot Collision Warning Chime

• Automatic 911 Call

• Allow Mobile Access

• Lane Departure Avoidance (Set to Assist)

• Emergency Lane Departure Avoidance

• Park Assist Chimes

While most of these safety features should always be enabled for any driver, Tesla allows them to be turned off manually. However, Parental Controls lock these settings, preventing accidental or intentional deactivation.

Night Driving Alert

Parental Controls also allow you to set a curfew, allowing you to be notified if a restricted driver uses the vehicle late at night. Curfew hours are set between 11 pm and 4 am and can not be changed. You’ll receive a Tesla app notification anytime the car is driven between these hours.

How to Enable Parental Controls

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Activating Parental Controls is simple and can be done either in-vehicle or through the Tesla app, making it easy to manage restrictions anytime, anywhere.

• In-Vehicle: Go to Vehicle Settings > Safety, then scroll down to Parental Controls and choose Enable. You can also enable parental controls by tapping on the profile icon at the top of the screen and choosing Parental Controls.

• In the Tesla App: Navigate to Security & Safety to access Parental Controls.

After enabling Parental Controls, you’ll be asked to enter a four-digit code that will be required when turning it off.

How to Turn Off Parental Controls

Parental Controls apply to the entire vehicle and affect all driver profiles. If you’re switching between a driver who needs parental controls and one who doesn't, then parental controls must be enabled or disabled after each driver uses the vehicle.

To turn off parental controls, tap the Profiles icon in the status bar, then tap parental controls and enter your PIN.

How to Tell If Parental Controls Are Enabled

There are a few ways to tell if parental controls are enabled in the vehicle. The easiest way is to tap the Profile icon in the status bar. If parental controls are enabled, you’ll see “Parental Controls Enabled” at the top of the list of profiles.

Which Models Are Supported

Like most Tesla software updates, new features apply to most features. This means that parental controls are available on most Teslas, including all Model 3s, all Model Ys, Cybertrucks, and 2021+ Model S and Model X vehicles.

Future Updates

Since introducing Parental Controls in 2024, Tesla has already added additional functionality, such as requiring Park Assist Chimes, Emergency Lane Departure Avoidance, Automatic 911 Calls, and other features.

There will likely be further improvements to parental controls that will introduce additional capabilities in the future. Such features could include letting guardians customize the curfew hours and locking parental controls to specific profiles.

Parental Controls are an immensely valuable feature if you have a young driver in the house. Similar to Valet Mode, they restrict access to several features, but while Valet Mode focuses on privacy, Parental Controls focuses on safety.

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Tesla FSD in Europe: June Update

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The road to bringing FSD to Europe has been a long and complex one and filled with regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles. Elon Musk, as well as other members of Tesla’s AI team, have previously voiced their grievances with the regulatory approval process on X.

However, it appears that there is finally some progress in getting things moving with recent changes to upcoming autonomy regulations, but the process still seems slow.

Waiting on the Dutch

Elon commented on X recently, stating that Tesla is waiting for approval from Dutch authorities and then the EU to start rolling out FSD in Europe. Tesla is focusing on acquiring approvals from the Dutch transportation authority, which will provide them with the platform they need to gain broader acceptance in Europe. Outside of the Netherlands, Tesla is also conducting testing in Norway, which provides a couple of avenues for them to obtain national-level approval.

The frustration has been ongoing, with multiple committee meetings bringing up autonomy regulation but always pulling back at the last second before approving anything. The last meeting on Regulation 157, which governs Automated Lane Keeping Systems, concluded with authorities from the UK and Spain requesting additional time to analyze the data before reaching a conclusion.

Tesla, as well as Elon, have motioned several times for owners to reach out to their elected representatives to move the process forward, as it seems that Tesla’s own efforts are being stymied. 

This can seem odd, especially since Tesla has previously demoed FSD working exceptionally smoothly on European roads - and just did it again in Rome when they shared the video below on X.

FSD Supervised testing in Rome, Italy

Pending regulatory approval pic.twitter.com/TXh3uQIfrx

— Tesla Europe & Middle East (@teslaeurope) June 12, 2025

DCAS Phase 3

While the approval process has been slow, Kees Roelandschap pointed out that there may be a different regulatory step that could allow FSD to gain a foothold in Europe.

According to Kees, the European Commission is now taking a new approach to approving ADAS systems under the new DCAS Phase 3 regulations. The Commission is now seeking data from systems currently operational in the United States that can perform System-Initiated Maneuvers and don’t require hands-on intervention for every request.

This is key because those are two of the core functionalities that make FSD so usable, and it also means that there may not be a need to wait years for proper regulations to be written from scratch. Now, the Commission will be looking at real-world data based on existing, deployed technology, which could speed up the process immensely.

What This Means

This new, data-driven regulatory approach could be the path for Tesla to reach its previous target of September for European FSD. While the cogs of bureaucracy are ever slow, sometimes all it takes is a little data to have them turn a bit faster in this case.

Alongside specific countries granting approval for limited field testing with employees, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for FSD in Europe, and hopes are that a release will occur by the end of 2025. With Europe now looking to North America for how FSD is performing, Tesla’s Robotaxi results could also play a role.

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Tesla Launches 'TeslaVision' Contest With Big Prizes — See Last Year’s Winner [VIDEO]

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Tesla’s marketing has always been relatively unconventional, relying on word-of-mouth rather than traditional advertising. The passion of the owner’s community is always massive, but it is especially high now with the launch of the Robotaxi network just around the corner.

Tesla is now tapping into that spring of fan creativity and announced the TeslaVision video contest, with some seriously impressive prizes up for grabs.

Announcing the TeslaVision fan video showcase

Tesla owners & supporters have always been able to see our products & mission for what they truly are.

Your word of mouth has made Tesla what it is today.

The OGs will remember that in 2017, we held our first video contest. 8 years… pic.twitter.com/6pPpkqmqOH

— Tesla (@Tesla) June 10, 2025

The Contest

The core of the contest is simple. Create a video that shows how your Tesla gives you more in life. Tesla is looking for submissions that highlight themes of freedom, safety, fun, and convenience.

Prizes

The prizes definitely make this contest worth entering if you’re good with a camera and have some basic video editing abilities.

For North America, the prizes include a brand new Model Y AWD Long Range, alongside an all-expenses-paid trip to Austin for a tour of Giga Texas. The grand prize winner will also be able to custom order their Model Y, allowing them to select their preferred wheels and color.

The two runners-up won’t get a Model Y, but they’ll also enjoy an all-expenses-paid trip to Giga Texas for a tour of the factory.

The travel and tour include lodging in Austin for 2 nights, as well as economy-class round-trip tickets from anywhere in North America. Tesla will also provide a vehicle for use during the trip.

Hopefully, these winners will also have the opportunity to experience the Robotaxi network while they’re in Austin, as it’s expected to be opened to the public later this month.

Project Loveday

For long-time followers of Tesla, this contest may feel familiar. The contest is a direct throwback to the 2017 Project Loveday contest, which was inspired by a letter to Tesla from a 10-year-old aspiring marketer. That contest was won by MKBHD, with his submission below:

How to Enter

If you’re ready to start filming, here are the key pieces of information you’ll need to know:

• Video must be 90 seconds or less

• Video must be uploaded to YouTube with a public URL

• Make a post on X and Instagram tagging “@Tesla” and include the words “TeslaVision contest” in the post.

• Provide links to both social media posts in your submission to Tesla’s form

• Provide your personal details in the form

• You have until July 17th, 2025, or until Tesla receives 10,000 entries, whichever comes first.

You can find the official submission form and all region-specific details on Tesla's website.

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