Tesla is working hard to make sure you never have to steer again. Meanwhile, some owners are coming up with new ways to steer anyway.
Automotive cybersecurity researcher Matthew KuKanich shared a video on Reddit of himself controlling his Tesla with a Nintendo Switch 2. According to KuKanich, his setup gives him “full access to vehicle functions,” including steering, the accelerator and brakes, turn signals, the horn, shifting, and the windshield wipers.
How It Works
KuKanich didn’t hack the Tesla itself. Instead, he jailbroke a Switch 2 and wrote a custom app called CAN Commander that sends commands to the car through its CAN bus, the internal network its components use to talk to each other.
“I built the custom Switch 2 software and the external CAN control system for my Tesla,” KuKanich explained on X.
Matthew KuKanich
The app maps each car function to the Switch’s controls. The left stick steers, ZR accelerates, ZL brakes, and A switches between Drive and Reverse. L and R activate the turn signals, X gives a single wipe, and Y sounds the horn. The app also pulls live data from the car and shows it on screen, including speed, steering angle, the current gear, and a connection status. KuKanich says it includes several safety features, and you have to hold B to exit.
In the video, the car stays parked while KuKanich moves the left stick and the Tesla’s steering wheel turns to match, with the turn signals blinking on cue.
KuKanich has done this before. He’s controlled his Tesla with an Xbox controller and even a Wii Remote, which supported motion controls so the steering wheel turned as he tilted the controller. Some of his videos even show his novel steering experiments in action on the road.
A game controller works fine for steering, at least until stick drift kicks in. KuKanich hasn’t released the code for his project yet but said he may upload it to his GitHub page. Even if he does, this is clearly a cool research project and not something to take onto public roads.
A Tesla and SpaceX merger may be closer than expected. According to a new report from Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the matter, merger negotiations between the two companies are progressing, and a deal could be announced as soon as December. The two sides have also discussed the possibility of the announcement slipping into early 2027.
A deal would be one of the largest mergers ever. SpaceX is currently valued at about $1.90 trillion, and Tesla at about $1.55 trillion.
How We Got Here
Last month, Musk confirmed that both companies had formed special committees of independent directors to discuss a merger at the request of shareholders. He said he believes a merger would be a good idea, but he can’t take part in the talks because he’s a conflicted party.
Getting approval at SpaceX should be easy, since Musk controls more than 50% of the voting power. Tesla is a different story. A merger would need support from 50% of all outstanding Tesla shares, not just the shares that vote, which Musk called “quite a high hurdle.” Tesla’s upcoming Annual Shareholder Meeting on December 3 doesn’t include a merger proposal, so any vote would have to come later.
A merger could also face regulatory hurdles, with SpaceX’s U.S. defense contracts clashing with Tesla’s business in China.
Two Close-Knit Companies
The two companies already have close business ties. SpaceX bought about $506 million in Megapacks and $130 million in Cybertrucks from Tesla in 2025, and the new flying Roadster was co-developed with SpaceX.
Some Tesla shareholders want the process to move faster. A letter urging the board to fast-track a deal gathered more than 6,400 signatures representing over 17.5 million shares.
Neither company has confirmed Bloomberg’s report. If talks stay on track, we could see an official announcement within weeks, followed by an expectedly long approval process at both companies and with regulators.
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