Hackers Control A Tesla Model S With Their Minds [VIDEO]

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The Tesla Model S is prone to being hacked, and this has been proven again. This time it was part of a project called Teslapathic, which was created during a 36-hour hackathon that took place over the weekend in Berkeley, reports Electrek.

Model S controlled via mind

In this project, a group of hackers managed to put together a prototype that controlled a Model S with certain commands, which were translated from brain activity–a.k.a., mind control. Earlier this year in a similar incident, a Model S owner was technically able to control his car with his mind, but later it was found to be “gimmicky” at best, since the person was only sending commands that an owner could use through Tesla’s app with its API tools, says Electrek.

However, with this project, the hackers — Vivek Vinodh, Casey Spencer, Lorenzo Caoile and Abenezer Mamo — have pushed the idea further. On their development page, they wrote that the rapid advancement of the automated auto industry inspired them, and they wanted to showcase “the future of human-computer interfaces, mind controlled devices.”

The hackers picked up a used Model S (which belonged to Spencer) and installed actuators on the pedals and a motor on the steering wheel. It was controlled by an analog signal translated from brain activity detected on an EEG headset, says Electrek.

Spencer, who broke the Tesla hyper-miling record a while ago, commented on the project in a Reddit post: “My team wrote a machine learning training program for an EEG headset that learned when its user was thinking forward or stop and created corresponding variables.”

Tesla Model S prone to security risk

A couple of months ago, white hat hackers proved that there is significant security risk for a Tesla vehicle. Keen Security Lab, a Chinese hacking research group, was able to control a Model S in both driving mode and parking. Hackers were able to remotely unlock the cars, activate the brakes and bring the car to a complete stop. Also they were able to adjust the seat and activate the windshield wipers. Most of these hacking demos were done in close proximity to the car, but the remote brake was activated from 12 miles way.

On Wednesday, Tesla shares closed up 0.09% at $183.93. Year to date, the stock is down more than 23%, while in the last year, it is down more than 11%. The stock has a 52-week high of $269.34 and a 52-week low of $141.05.

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