Lindsey and her husband are two of the millions of parents across the globe working overtime to protect themselves and their children from online harm.
After securing their home’s digital footprint, the couple discovered one internet access portal they could not protect — the one inside their Tesla.
Tesla offers drivers access to streaming, social media apps and the internet through its built-in console. Despite years of concerned chatter online, the company does not offer any parental controls or tools to limit internet access — even while driving.
“I was just appalled at what I found online,” Lindsey told the Daily Citizen. “It’s a safety issue for everyone on the road if Tesla drivers are actively browsing the internet, and worse, if they are watching videos while driving.”
Stories of Tesla drivers watching pornography on the road, either in traffic or using the car’s self-drive feature, surface periodically. In 2019, one couple filmed a pornographic video inside a Tesla while the car drove itself.
“Turns out there’s more ways to use Autopilot than we imagined,” Tesla owner Elon Musk commented on the story.
“Shoulda seen it coming.”
Yes, they “shoulda.” But seven years later, Tesla still offers no tools to limit a car’s internet access. A representative told Lindsey as much when she called the company’s customer service line, offering instead to teach her how to clear the car’s internet history.
“The representative said, ‘I can tell you how to clear the cache — it’s really easy,’” Lindsey recalled. “And then he kind of stopped and said, ‘But that’s probably the opposite of what you want to do.’”
That’s not to say Tesla offers no parental controls. Parents can set speed limits for their teens, monitor their location, see what they’re listening to while driving and even monitor the car’s internal temperature.
Evidently, tools to limit internet access have not yet cracked the high-tech company’s priority list.
I asked Lindsey whether she believes Tesla’s failure to provide parental controls for the car’s internet is intentional or merely an oversight.
“In my opinion, it is not by accident that they have made clearing the browser history simple,” she reflected, continuing:
This issue doesn’t just impact Tesla owners or even fellow drivers — it’s yet another illustration of how difficult it can be for parents to limit their children’s access to the internet. Smart utilities and modern cars offer online portals parents may not even think to protect.
“When the house internet isn’t an option, the computer isn’t an option, the TV isn’t an option — well, the car is an option,” Lindsey summarizes.
The Daily Citizen recommends all parents with smart utilities, like fridges, or cars with touch screen consoles confirm children cannot access the internet through those interfaces.
If the devices do offer internet access, search online for parental controls or ways to turn off the browser entirely.
Lindsey hopes more concerned parents and citizens will pressure Tesla to offer more comprehensive parental controls. In the meantime, she suggests Tesla owners not allow children to wait in a Tesla alone and establish a family rule to exit the car while it charges.
The Daily Citizen thanks Lindsey and her family for sharing her experience in service of other parents. Wewill continue updating parents on ways to protect their kids online.
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