What does cell phone range have to do with it? I got a new iPhone a week ago and drove home just fine with my old phone deactivated. If that hadn't worked, I also carry a key card in my wallet in case I want to valet.

Quote:

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I've read some other horror stories of people going off the grid and out of cellphone range and not being able to start their Tesla.

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Lolwut?

GAC06 said:

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What does cell phone range have to do with it? I got a new iPhone a week ago and drove home just fine with my old phone deactivated. If that hadn't worked, I also carry a key card in my wallet in case I want to valet.

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The last two anti-EV posts have reached the throw **** against the wall phase of these discussions.

techno-ag said:

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Medaggie said:

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People always clap back with these nonsensical statements. No one is tell you that EVs are for everyone. This thread was not titles, "Get an EV or your an idiot" It was a EV bashing thread and people are just telling you that it has a place in the car market and has good value.

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Incorrect. It was a thread noting that without subsidies, the market has spoken and new EV sales fell off a cliff.

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Your definition of a Cliff is bizarre. BEV worldwide % cars sold
2024 17%
2025 20%
2026 (Projected) 20%+

hph6203 said:

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That scenario is unnecessary. Autonomous driving reduces serious accidents (Waymo reports a 90% reduction). That reduction will garner discounts from insurance, those discounts will be paid by individuals that didn't opt in for proof of autonomous miles. People will seek the discounts progressively shifting the cost of insurance on vehicles to those who continue to drive themselves. Eventually that becomes an unsustainable cost, because you're creating 95+% of the accidents (after impact of network effect of increased autonomous driving).

Over time the proliferation of autonomous vehicles owned by a network will make individual ownership of a car unsustainable for most. Why pay $1/mile for ownership of a car when you can pay $.25/mile by hailing a ride that arrives in <3 minutes and is on the average cleaner than your individually owned car because it is cleaned at least once a day.

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Seriously... stop.

You've basically tried to explain how the public bus that smells like weed won't smell like weed because it gets cleaned daily - in the future networked EV utopia.

Meanwhile, my vehicle is as clean or dirty as I like it. And it has all my stuff in it. Sunglasses, Swiss Army Knife, Emergency $40, etc.

Oh, and did we talk weather? I've got a snow brush, ice scraper, etc. Heck first aid kit and road flares in my Wrangler not to mention a Warn winch and a GMRS radio you know... just in case.

Meanwhile, sign me up for this in a Waymo (can I carry in a Waymo?)

Vandals in California hit Waymo taxi with a passenger still in it 🤣🤣pic.twitter.com/pfQKd8wMXE

— Retard Memes (@TrumpsLostBalls) April 24, 2026

NSFW but totally appropriate for the EV bros on this thread

https://instagr.am/p/DXsKwJAEour

Malibu said:

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It's a timing problem. 90% of the demand is going to happen between, 630-9 AM and 330-630 pm, and you need to have enough cars to match that demand. And then there's those of us that have to get to softball practice In 10 minutes and for heaven's sake I have told you 15 times to put your cleats on and we gotta get out the door right now and can't wait for the cab to get there.

Young people in urban areas may not have any practical need for a car but I wouldn't bet on the need for an individual car to make a huge drop

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Why would you wait until the 15th time to call a ride for something you knew was going to occur at a specific time in the first place? Just put soccer practice in your calendar and a car is sitting in front of your house waiting for you before you say cleats the first time.

Does the city bus get autonomously cleaned? Pull in, park, doors open automatically and clean the car. Monitor for smells and ozone the smell away when necessary? You underestimate how many problems you presume are not resolvable are readily resolvable.

It is not a 2030 reailty, but it is a 2050.

GAC06 said:

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What does cell phone range have to do with it? I got a new iPhone a week ago and drove home just fine with my old phone deactivated. If that hadn't worked, I also carry a key card in my wallet in case I want to valet.

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If I remember correctly, the story which was posted on here had a couple locked out of their Tesla or unable to start it because they had driven to a national park where there was no cell signal.

techno-ag said:

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Medaggie said:

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People always clap back with these nonsensical statements. No one is tell you that EVs are for everyone. This thread was not titles, "Get an EV or your an idiot" It was a EV bashing thread and people are just telling you that it has a place in the car market and has good value.

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Incorrect. It was a thread noting that without subsidies, the market has spoken and new EV sales fell off a cliff.

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Price increases impact sales? No kidding. Consumers accelerate buying decisions when they recognize an impending price increase? Also no kidding. Q1 is a dispropritionate reduction, because it is the first quarter without any subsidy impact and the consumers pulled forward purchases they may have made in Q1 to Q3 last year to get the additional $7500 off. There is a reason why used EV prices are also noted as rising, because it's not a general loss of interest in EVs.

Subsidies did what they intended to do. Drive demand and create mass production of EVs reducing their cost of production.

2019 Model 3 LR RWD: $45,000 325 miles of rannge (est 300 miles under new methodology), 0-60 5.1s
2026 Modell 3 LR RWD: $37,000 320 miles of range, 0-60 5.8s
2026 Model 3 LR RWD Premium: $42,490 363 miles of range, 0-60 4.9S

2019 Toyota Camry Hybrid LE: $28,000
2026 Toyota Camry Hybrid LE: $29,500


Relative price increase of the Camry Hybrid 28% to LR RWD Model 3. Trend will continue with EVs achieving refueling parity and price parity with hybrid/gas in the long run.



For those that say autonomy is not an EV specific technology, it is not in theory, but in practice it will be dominated by EVs, because autonomy is primarily going to materialize as a service rather than a personal vehicle technology and EVs are the most efficient cost per mile vehicle to operate that service on by a long shot.

techno-ag said:

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GAC06 said:

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What does cell phone range have to do with it? I got a new iPhone a week ago and drove home just fine with my old phone deactivated. If that hadn't worked, I also carry a key card in my wallet in case I want to valet.

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If I remember correctly, the story which was posted on here had a couple locked out of their Tesla or unable to start it because they had driven to a national park where there was no cell signal.

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That's a very very silly story. All that's required for a phone key is Bluetooth. A key card backup is advisable, and also unrelated to cell service. Thanks for the laugh though.

GAC06 said:

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techno-ag said:

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GAC06 said:

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What does cell phone range have to do with it? I got a new iPhone a week ago and drove home just fine with my old phone deactivated. If that hadn't worked, I also carry a key card in my wallet in case I want to valet.

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If I remember correctly, the story which was posted on here had a couple locked out of their Tesla or unable to start it because they had driven to a national park where there was no cell signal.

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That's a very very silly story. All that's required for a phone key is Bluetooth. A key card backup is advisable, and also unrelated to cell service. Thanks for the laugh though.

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It was pretty funny. We all had a good laugh. Once again EVs are not appropriate for all (dare we say most) driving situations.

Teslag said:

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Quote:

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EVs are always drawing power just to stay alive. Let the battery drain completely and you're calling a tow truck, not a guy with a gas can. Come back from a week of travel to find your car dead in the airport lot and you're not driving home, you're getting an expensive tow to the dealer.

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A Tesla 3 or Y uses about 1% of its battery per day sitting idle.

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Tesla added a low power mode that automatically enables at 20% as a default, but can be changed in the settings. When in low power mode the vampire drain drops from 1% per day to around 1% per week.

techno-ag said:

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GAC06 said:

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techno-ag said:

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GAC06 said:

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What does cell phone range have to do with it? I got a new iPhone a week ago and drove home just fine with my old phone deactivated. If that hadn't worked, I also carry a key card in my wallet in case I want to valet.

---

If I remember correctly, the story which was posted on here had a couple locked out of their Tesla or unable to start it because they had driven to a national park where there was no cell signal.

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That's a very very silly story. All that's required for a phone key is Bluetooth. A key card backup is advisable, and also unrelated to cell service. Thanks for the laugh though.

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It was pretty funny. We all had a good laugh. Once again EVs are not appropriate for all (dare we say most) driving situations.

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Once again, no one is arguing that they are. Thanks for sharing your nonsense chain email story.

Just put it in N and apply brakes.

Infinite power

Found it.

https://www.carscoops.com/2017/01/tesla-driver-stranded-in-desert-after/

bobbranco said:

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Found it.

https://www.carscoops.com/2017/01/tesla-driver-stranded-in-desert-after/

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Thanks for finding it. I know we discussed it.

GeorgiAg said:

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coolerguy12 said:

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What sucks worse is having a government whose wet dream is to control every aspect of people's lives. Remember when politicians wanted to make it where you couldn't buy groceries if you didn't get teslag's covid shot? What do you think happens to your grid connected vehicle when your overlords find out that you broke curfew in it during the next plandemic? Or crossed county lines? Hell it probably won't even let you do any of that. Will just take you home or to the nearest police station.

EV technology is great. If I had a 150 mile round trip commute I would probably get one because I can work a calculator. But your previous post about cities banning or taxing driving your own car should terrify you, but you're just happy you can post it while your car drives you to lunch.

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It does terrify me. They just introduced a bill in Georgia where you would have to blow in a breathalyzer to start your care. WTF? Not that i'm FOR drunk driving but that's awful. I have no doubt the governments will push for all vehicles to have a kill switch.

Perhaps it will never get that far.

You have to realize you are an outlier. EV makes zero sense for you. I will always own a gas truck, preferably with no electronics. I have a Nissan Titan Diesel with a Cummins now. Great, but for a daily driver in any kinda city, it sucks. But I have 25+ acres, a 24 foot boat and two Sea Doos that need towing. Plus I have a big boy trailer to load my side by side or go pick up supplies.

I am surprised at how much I love the Tesla - self driving, just plug it in my garage esp. when cold or raining, all the technology on it. It's a cool machine. Also, right now the gas savings are nice.

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Newsflash: this is already federal law that was passed in the Infrastructure Bill. Sounds like GA is just passing their own state law on top of federal law that already exists. It's just that the Fed law hasn't been implemented yet because they passed it 3-4 years ago under assumption that tech would catch up to the law after the fact when they would implement it.

bobbranco said:

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Found it.

https://www.carscoops.com/2017/01/tesla-driver-stranded-in-desert-after/

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The story I remember is someone rented a Tesla using an app where people rent out their private vehicles, an AirBNB for cars. There are no keys involved, access to the car is entirely by smart phone app.

The person in question drove the car to a national park with obviously no cell service. When they got back from their hike, they couldn't get in the car.

edit - Turo or a similar service.

torrid said:

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bobbranco said:

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Found it.

https://www.carscoops.com/2017/01/tesla-driver-stranded-in-desert-after/

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The story I remember is someone rented a Tesla using an app where people rent out their private vehicles, an AirBNB for cars. There are no keys involved, access to the car is entirely by smart phone app.

The person in question drove the car to a national park with obviously no cell service. When they got back from their hike, they couldn't get in the car.

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I don't remember any details but this 'no cell service' problem has occurred with 2 vehicles. Could be more than 2.

Facts are facts. Facts that cause trouble for some folks.

techno-ag said:

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bobbranco said:

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Found it.

https://www.carscoops.com/2017/01/tesla-driver-stranded-in-desert-after/

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Thanks for finding it. I know we discussed it.

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The Tesla app has never required a cell signal to function as a key. Either a lie or a person that put their phone on airplane mode and forgot.

Was just able to get into my car and put it in drive with airplane mode enabled on my phone (no cell, no WiFi, couldn't load Texags) with Bluetooth enabled. It is not a real thing.

hph6203 said:

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techno-ag said:

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bobbranco said:

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Found it.

https://www.carscoops.com/2017/01/tesla-driver-stranded-in-desert-after/

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Thanks for finding it. I know we discussed it.

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The Tesla app has never required a cell signal to function as a key. Either a lie or a person that put their phone on airplane mode and forgot.

Was just able to get into my car and put it in drive with airplane mode enabled on my phone (no cell, no WiFi, couldn't load Texags) with Bluetooth enabled. It is not a real thing.

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What happens with Bluetooth disabled?

bobbranco said:

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torrid said:

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bobbranco said:

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Found it.

https://www.carscoops.com/2017/01/tesla-driver-stranded-in-desert-after/

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The story I remember is someone rented a Tesla using an app where people rent out their private vehicles, an AirBNB for cars. There are no keys involved, access to the car is entirely by smart phone app.

The person in question drove the car to a national park with obviously no cell service. When they got back from their hike, they couldn't get in the car.

---

I don't remember any details but this 'no cell service' problem has occurred with 2 vehicles. Could be more than 2.

Facts are facts. Facts that cause trouble for some folks.

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That's a 9 year old article about someone trying to start the car from a distance, not right next to it, which just requires Bluetooth.

***** Against. Wall.

BigRobSA said:

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hph6203 said:

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techno-ag said:

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bobbranco said:

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Found it.

https://www.carscoops.com/2017/01/tesla-driver-stranded-in-desert-after/

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Thanks for finding it. I know we discussed it.

---

The Tesla app has never required a cell signal to function as a key. Either a lie or a person that put their phone on airplane mode and forgot.

Was just able to get into my car and put it in drive with airplane mode enabled on my phone (no cell, no WiFi, couldn't load Texags) with Bluetooth enabled. It is not a real thing.

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What happens with Bluetooth disabled?

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It doesn't work. Then you turn Bluetooth back on and it works.

I think my favorite part of these threads is when non-Tesla owners tell Tesla owners how their cars work or don't work.

It doesn't work without Bluetooth. Which is why I'm pretty confident that any claim that a lack of cell signal caused them to not be able to get into their car was in reality their forgetfulness that they turned Bluetooth off when they went on a hike.

Teslag said:

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bobbranco said:

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torrid said:

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bobbranco said:

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Found it.

https://www.carscoops.com/2017/01/tesla-driver-stranded-in-desert-after/

---

The story I remember is someone rented a Tesla using an app where people rent out their private vehicles, an AirBNB for cars. There are no keys involved, access to the car is entirely by smart phone app.

The person in question drove the car to a national park with obviously no cell service. When they got back from their hike, they couldn't get in the car.

---

I don't remember any details but this 'no cell service' problem has occurred with 2 vehicles. Could be more than 2.

Facts are facts. Facts that cause trouble for some folks.

---

That's a 9 year old article about someone trying to start the car from a distance, not right next to it, which just requires Bluetooth.

***** Against. Wall.

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Sure it's old news. Lack of cell service caused the problem and it was not Bluetooth per the article. Maybe there has been a patch to correct. Maybe it's operator error. I have not clue.

Teslag said:

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I think my favorite part of these threads is when non-Tesla owners tell Tesla owners how their cars work or don't work.

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The other fun part is when the news story is not read...

Teslag said:

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BigRobSA said:

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hph6203 said:

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techno-ag said:

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bobbranco said:

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Found it.

https://www.carscoops.com/2017/01/tesla-driver-stranded-in-desert-after/

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Thanks for finding it. I know we discussed it.

---

The Tesla app has never required a cell signal to function as a key. Either a lie or a person that put their phone on airplane mode and forgot.

Was just able to get into my car and put it in drive with airplane mode enabled on my phone (no cell, no WiFi, couldn't load Texags) with Bluetooth enabled. It is not a real thing.

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What happens with Bluetooth disabled?

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It doesn't work. Then you turn Bluetooth back on and it works.

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That's what I figured.

hph6203 said:

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It doesn't work without Bluetooth. Which is why I'm pretty confident that any claim that a lack of cell signal caused them to not be able to get into their car was in reality their forgetfulness that they turned Bluetooth off when they went on a hike.

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Article was from January of 2017 so likely a 2015 or 2016 Model S which came with an actual keyfob. They may not have at up a Bluetooth phone key then.

Which is why it's an irrelevant article now since you get no fob and it's all phone key on current models.

bobbranco said:

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Teslag said:

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I think my favorite part of these threads is when non-Tesla owners tell Tesla owners how their cars work or don't work.

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The other fun part is when the news story is not read...

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I read it. And the date. Which means it has no bearing on current or recent models.

Teslag said:

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bobbranco said:

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Teslag said:

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I think my favorite part of these threads is when non-Tesla owners tell Tesla owners how their cars work or don't work.

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The other fun part is when the news story is not read...

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I read it. And the date. Which means it has no bearing on current or recent models.

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What year were the key fob / cell service limitations removed?

Key fob has never been on the Model 3 or Model Y as a default key. The phone has always connected via Bluetooth. 2021 refresh of the Model S and X removed the keyfob as the default key and added the phone key connectivity. All current models use phone key as the default, a credit card style key as a back up, and you can buy a key fob as an accessory (it's $175 and totally not worth it).

I have never not been able to get in my car without a cell signal. My cabin has no cell signal and I am able to get in my car.

First Semi off high volume line pic.twitter.com/fI1AdQrJFH

— Tesla Semi (@tesla_semi) April 29, 2026

bobbranco said:

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Teslag said:

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bobbranco said:

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Teslag said:

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I think my favorite part of these threads is when non-Tesla owners tell Tesla owners how their cars work or don't work.

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The other fun part is when the news story is not read...

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I read it. And the date. Which means it has no bearing on current or recent models.

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What year were the key fob / cell service limitations removed?

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Around 2017 when Model 3 started selling. And even on 2015 and 2016's you didn't *need* internet for the phone key. You just needed to set up the Bluetooth for it. Not everyone did since they came with fobs. Now when you pickup your Tesla the Bluetooth phone key set up is part of the delivery process. Your Tesla app handles all payment and paperwork. Once you sign the app turns into a key and pairs with the car by Bluetooth. Internet and cell service isn't required from that point forward.