Greg's Corner

Teslas hacked and more electric vehicle news!

If you’re in the market for a Tesla Model 3 and want to take advantage of its Enhanced Autopilot feature, you may want to think again. A team of cybersecurity researchers known as Regulus claims that they have been able to hack into a Tesla Model 3 and essentially take remote control of the car while on autopilot. Regulus performed this experiment in a closed location and were successfully able to cause the car to malfunction with parts that can be bought off the shelf. While it’s doubtful that these attacks will become widespread immediately, it does show that autonomous vehicles may not be ready for primetime just yet as many of its proponents claim.

[youtube https://youtu.be/fJwEpcAQou0%5D

The State of New York is getting ready to pass legislation that would make electric scooters and bicycles available for rent in their state. However, it will be up to the individual municipalities to determine where the scooters can be ridden and left out for rent. What remains to be seen is how they will be embraced by residents of the Empire State. In many communities such as Seattle and Austin, Texas, many residents have found them to be a public nuisance have taken to throwing the scooters in lakes and rivers. While New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is supporting the new legislation, it will be interesting to see if scooters in the Five Boroughs end up in the Hudson River.

Lastly, if you own an electric or hybrid vehicle and live in the state of Utah, you may be paying more out of pocket. While only 2% of vehicles in Utah are electric or a hybrid, the state is looking to make up for the loss in revenue when it comes to the highway tax that the state makes off of gasoline sales. Under a voluntary program starting in January, the state would want to charge electric and hybrid drivers 1.5 cents for every mile driven. While a tax like this seems inevitable with many drivers moving on to electric vehicles it will be interesting to see how states enforce such a tax once electric vehicles become more commonplace.