Teen hacker claims ability to control 25 Teslas worldwide

David Colombo claimed he can see if a driver is present in the car, turn on the vehicles’ stereo sound systems and flash their headlights.

A 19-year-old security researcher claims to have hacked remotely into more than 25 Tesla cars in 13 countries, saying in a series of tweets that a software flaw allowed him to access the electric vehicle pioneer’s systems.

David Colombo, a self-described information technology specialist, tweeted that the software flaw allows him to unlock doors and windows, start the cars without keys and disable their security systems.

Mr Colombo also claimed he can see if a driver is present in the car, turn on the vehicles’ stereo sound systems and flash their headlights.

According to one online report, US-based Tesla has a vulnerability disclosure platform where security researchers can register their own vehicles for testing, which Tesla can pre-approve.

The company pays up to $15,000 (€13,260) for a qualifying vulnerability.

Mr Colombo later tweeted he has been in touch with Tesla’s security team, and said they were investigating the issue.

The team said they will come back to him with any updates, he said.

- Bloomberg