How to Lock a Tesla: An In-Depth Guide to Securing Your Vehicle

Your Tesla has various options when it comes to locking and securing your vehicle

Not a Tesla App

In today's world, the security of your vehicle is more important than ever. Tesla, a pioneer in electric vehicles, has implemented advanced security features and locking mechanisms to help protect your investment. This guide will delve into the various ways to lock a Tesla, auto-locking options, and the process of locking doors from inside and outside, providing you with the knowledge to secure your car confidently.

Introduction to Tesla Locking Mechanisms

Tesla offers multiple methods to secure your vehicle, including auto-locking options, manual locking from the inside, and locking from the outside using the Tesla app or key card. Each option provides different levels of convenience and security to meet your individual preferences and needs.

Auto Locking Options

Auto-locking mechanisms on Tesla vehicles add a layer of security and convenience to your driving experience. Here are some key features:

Walk-Away Door Lock

Tesla's walk-away door lock feature automatically locks your car, whether you're using a phone key or key fob, as you move away from it. This ensures that your vehicle is secure when you're not around. As you walk back towards the car, it will automatically unlock, allowing for a seamless entry. If you keep your phone close to where your vehicle is parked, such as a bedroom above an open garage, your vehicle may unlock because your phone key is nearby. If you use the Tesla app, you can disable passive authentication on your Tesla app to prevent the vehicle from unlocking when your phone is nearby.

Exclude Home

Tesla allows you to exclude your home location from the auto-lock feature. This means your car will not auto-lock when parked at home, providing added convenience. You can input your home address in the vehicle's navigation system to set up this feature.

It's important to note that Tesla will recognize a location as being your home if it's within approximately 1,640 feet (500 meters) of your saved address. This means that if you leave your car in a nearby parking spot or outside of your garage, the vehicle will not lock if you have auto-lock turned off for your home location.

How Walk-Away Door Lock Works

The walk-away door lock feature utilizes your phone's or key fob's proximity to the car. The doors lock automatically when you move a certain distance away (approximately 10 feet). This distance can vary depending on your phone's signal strength or key fob battery life.

Camp Mode and Walk-Away Door Lock

When Camp Mode is activated, the walk-away door lock feature is disabled. This is to ensure that the car remains unlocked and accessible during camping or extended stays in the car. Camp Mode lets you maintain climate control, interior lighting, and USB power while parked.

Driver Door Unlock Option

You can choose to have only the driver's door unlocked when you approach the vehicle. This adds an extra layer of security by limiting access to the car. To enable this option, navigate to the "Locks" menu in your vehicle's settings.

Lock Confirmation Sound

Tesla allows you to enable or disable the lock confirmation sound, a helpful audible cue to know your vehicle is secure. This feature can be toggled on or off in the car's settings. If you decide to turn off the confirmation sound, you can check if the vehicle is locked by looking to see if the mirrors are folded.

Unlock Notifications

You can receive notifications if your car is left unlocked or if any doors are left open. This keeps you informed about the security status of your vehicle. To enable notifications, navigate to the "Safety & Security" menu in the car's settings and select the desired options.

Locking Doors from Inside

To lock a Tesla from the inside, follow these steps:

Tap the lock icon at the top of the screen. In a Model 3 or Model Y, there's also a lock icon on top of the vehicle visualization if the vehicle is parked. The doors will automatically lock, and the icon will change to indicate the locked status.

Locking Doors from Outside

You can lock your Tesla from outside using the Tesla app, key card, or touchscreen:

Locking Using the Tesla App

Open the app and look for the quick action icons. If the icon is white and unlocked, tap it to lock the car. If the icon is gray and locked, the car is already locked. Remember, quick actions are customizable, so if the lock icon is missing, you can add it back by customizing your quick actions. To customize quick actions, you can long press on any of the icons and drag the desired icons to the quick action bar.

Lock Using the Key Card

To lock your Tesla with a key card, simply tap the card on the designated area of the driver's side door pillar. The card uses RFID technology to communicate with the car, allowing for keyless entry and locking. Keep your key card safe, as it is an essential backup for accessing and starting your vehicle if your phone or key fob is unavailable.

Lock Using the Screen

Open the door, press the lock button on the center touchscreen, and then close the door. This method ensures that the car is locked even if you don't have your phone or key fob with you. As you close the door, the vehicle will recognize that the command came from inside and lock the doors accordingly.

Additional Tips for Securing Your Tesla

In addition to locking your vehicle, consider these tips to ensure your Tesla remains safe and secure:

Update Your Tesla App and Vehicle Software

Keep your vehicle's software and the Tesla app up to date to benefit from the latest security enhancements and features. You can check for updates in the car's settings under "Software."

PIN to Drive

To add an extra layer of security, enable the PIN to Drive feature, which requires entering a unique PIN before the car can be driven. This prevents unauthorized use of your vehicle, even if someone gains access to your key card or phone. You can enable PIN to Drive in the "Safety & Security" menu.

Activate Sentry Mode

Sentry Mode is a security feature that monitors the environment around your car when parked. If a potential threat is detected, the car will activate cameras and alarms to deter malicious activity. Sentry Mode cameras can also be viewed remotely in many regions.

Use a Strong Password

It is connected to your vehicle and its features. Make sure to use a strong, unique password and enable two-factor authentication to protect your account from unauthorized access.

Be Cautious With Car Access

While many third-party accessories and services are available for Tesla vehicles, be cautious when choosing products that may compromise the car's security, void its warranty or give access to your vehicle. Stick to reputable services and vendors and read reviews before making a purchase.

Tesla offers several options for locking and securing your vehicle, providing security and convenience. Familiarize yourself with these features and follow the additional tips mentioned above to ensure your Tesla remains safe and secure at all times. By taking advantage of these advanced security features, you can enjoy peace of mind while driving and parking your Tesla.

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The Differences Between the New Autopark on Intel vs AMD Tesla Vehicles [Video]

Tesla is starting to roll out its latest iteration of Autopark to additional vehicles. The feature that lets your vehicle park automatically was initially rolled out in North America to vehicles without ultrasonic sensors (USS). However, now with FSD v12.3.6, it's going out to vehicles with USS as well.

However, there are differences in how Autopark looks visually, depending on whether you have an infotainment unit that is based on the slower Intel Atom processor, or the latest AMD Ryzen processor.

What’s the Same

Both vehicles will receive the new Autopark and the functionality remains the same. The difference lies in the visuals and whether the vehicle is capable of displaying Tesla’s High Fidelity Park Assist. All vehicles will display available parking spots when you're traveling under 5 mph. You can then tap any of the spots to have your vehicle automatically park at the chosen location.

Intel Vehicles Will Still New New Visuals

Contrary to what was expected, vehicles with the older processor will still display some new visuals, beyond the parking spots. Think of it as a less intense version of High Fidelity Park Assist. Whereas Park Assist on AMD vehicles shows a complete 3D reconstruction of objects in 3D, Intel vehicles will display what looks more like a two-dimensional overhead view. However, it will still display road markings, like arrows and parking lines and even walls and barriers, but unfortunately, the view can not be spun in a 3D fashion like visualizations normally can.

This is a great summary of my AutoPark discoveries yesterday w/ FSD 12.3.6 on my Model 3 with Ultrasonic Sensors and INTEL Atom CPU.

More to come soon. 👊 pic.twitter.com/XH3ZR3ZGBN

— ⚡️TechGeek Tesla 🔋⚡️ (@jonbbc) April 29, 2024

The lines and objects displayed are different from the vector-based lines the vehicle normally displays on roads. FSD visualizations aren’t, in fact, recreating the environment they see, they’re simply detecting an arrow, line, or object and then replacing it with a pre-created 3D asset in the visualization. Although these reconstructions don’t look as sharp or pretty, they’ll mimic whatever is actually drawn on the road.

For vehicles with AMD processors, you'll see the previously released High Fidelity Park Assist (video below), which does look amazing.

If you’d like to always use High Fidelity Park Assist visuals even when you’re not using Autopark, then you’ll need to disable your ultrasonic sensors and give up the accurate measurements they display.

You can change your setting under Controls > Autopilot > Park Assist and toggle between Standard or Vision.

High-fidelity park assist is shipping this weekend to Tesla customers without ultrasonic sensors as part of the holiday release!pic.twitter.com/MEHL6w003r

— Ashok Elluswamy (@aelluswamy) December 17, 2023

Who Gets the New Autopark

If your vehicle has ultrasonic sensors, then the new Autopark is currently only available on FSD v12.3.6 , which is update 2024.3.25, but since Autopark only requires Enhanced Autopilot or above, it should be bundled with a non-FSD update in the future.

While the new Autopark is only available in North America, it is expected to be rolled out to additional regions in the near future as Tesla continues to test the feature.

If you're not sure if your vehicle has an Intel Atom or AMD Ryzen processor, you can double-check by going under Controls > Software > Additional Vehicle Information. You'll see your infotainment processor listed there.

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Tesla Lays Off Entire Supercharger Team as Musk Talks About the Future of Superchargers

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk emailed the company’s executives informing them about further layoffs including Supercharging, Public Policy and New Product Iteration teams. The reductions come in addition to the more than 10 percent staff cut announced two weeks ago.

In an email seen by The Information, Musk stated that the company needs “to be absolutely hardcore about headcount and cost reduction”.

“Starting at 10 AM EST Tuesday, I will ask for the resignation of any executive who retains more than three people who don’t obviously pass the excellent, necessary, and trustworthy test,” the Tesla CEO wrote.

Musk Talks About the Future of Superchargers

Tesla recently reached 50,000 Superchargers globally and marked the occasion with a special edition Supercharger. Superchargers are the world's most reliable, fast-charging network, partly due to Tesla’s real-time monitoring. As Tesla has recently started opening its Supercharging network to other automakers, the move to axe the entire Supercharger team caused perplexity among investors and customers.

On X, Musk commented on the concerns a few hours later saying Tesla still plans to grow the Supercharger network, "just at a slower pace for new locations”. The company will instead focus on “100% uptime and expansion of existing locations,” he added.

This statement is particularly odd given that Tesla’s Superchargers are already highly reliable with more than a 99% uptime. However, depending on your region, some charging locations can become rather congested, and this will likely worsen as more vehicles come equipped with NACS ports and get access to the Supercharger network.

Rivian recently announced that it will open up its much smaller network of fast chargers to Tesla and other EVs. This may help fill in some gaps, especially since Rivian tends to focus on more rural areas.

Tesla still plans to grow the Supercharger network, just at a slower pace for new locations and more focus on 100% uptime and expansion of existing locations

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 30, 2024

William Jameson, strategic charging programs lead at Tesla, confirmed on X that Musk had let the "entire charging org go”. Later on, Musk disclosed that all the sites that are currently under construction “will be completed, ” including the highly anticipated Hollywood Diner. There’s also a new Supercharger planned that will be New England’s largest and include a solar CyberCanopy.

Musk added that Tesla will add “additional Superchargers anywhere where there are gaps,” although as he previously said, it will be at a much slower rate than before.

Tesla announced the first generation of Superchargers in September 2012 with the first 6 locations in the US while expansion to Europe and Asia arrived in mid-2013.

Open of Supercharging Network

In May 2023, Ford announced that it became the first automaker to gain access to Tesla Superchargers across the U.S. and Canada. Less than two weeks later, GM CEO Mary Barra said in an X Spaces with Elon Musk, that GM customers would also access more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers in North America.

Major automakers such as Volvo, Mercedes, and Honda plus EV startups including Rivian and Polestar have followed over the next months bringing up the number to 20.

Further Teams Affected 

Daniel Ho, Director of Vehicle Programs and New Product Introduction (NPI), has also left the company, along with the entire public policy team previously under Rohan Patel, former Vice President for Public Policy and Business Development.

At the time, Patel said on X that Tesla has “the best policy/biz-dev team in the business” while thanking Elon Musk for “empowering” to “lead big initiatives at the company”.

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