The car was 12 miles away – but the hackers may as well have been inside it. Over a wireless connection, the small group was able to unlock the Tesla Model S’s doors, open its boot while in motion and – most concerningly – activate the brakes.
The demonstration, from security researchers at the Chinese technology company Tencent, was no more than that. The Tesla vulnerability was not used on the road, and the company fixed the problem.
But when disclosed eight years ago, it was seen as a worrying sign: that as cars became increasingly technologically sophisticated, with critical functions controlled by centralised computer systems, they also became more vulnerable.
