Why Tesla is offering a new Model 3 to a hacker
The electric vehicle maker is inviting cyber experts to break into its latest model
In a bid to ramp up its security, Tesla has announced it will give away a Model 3 electric car to anyone who succeeds in hacking into its systems.
The Elon Musk-backed carmaker has teamed up with Vancouver’s Pwn2Own cyber security contest to challenge up-and-coming hackers to find vulnerabilities in the budget EV, Engadget reports. The competition will run from 20 to 22 March.
The initiative reflects a growing trend. Aware that their systems are not always as secure as they’d like, many tech companies are now looking to budding programmers to crack their products and expose major security flaws.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
By inviting contestants at the Pwn2Own event to hack into the Model 3, which costs $35,000 (£27,200) in the US, and share their discoveries, Tesla will be able to discover and rectify flaws in its cheapest model. This will potentially remove the need to finance a team of cyber security experts.
The winning contestant will be given a brand new Model 3 as part of a generous prize pot totalling about $900,000 (£701,000), says Ars Technica.
Speaking at the Vancouver-based event, David Lau, Tesla’s vice president of vehicle software, said the company’s work with the cyber research community was “invaluable”.
“We look forward to learning about, and rewarding, great work in Pwn2Own so that we can continue to improve our products and our approach to designing inherently secure systems”, he said.
This isn’t the first time Tesla has called on the hacking community to find vulnerabilities in its cars.
According to The Verge, the company has operated a “bug bounty program” since 2014, encouraging cyber security experts to find flaws in its cars in exchange for payments running into tens of thousands of dollars.
The process has since been adopted by General Motors and the Fiat Chrysler Association, the news site adds.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Ottawa climate talks: can global plastic problem be solved?
In the spotlight Nations aim to draft world's first treaty on plastic pollution, but resistance from oil- and gas-producing countries could limit scope
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Netherlands split on WFH for sex workers
Speed Read Councils concerned over 'nuisance' of at-home sex work, but others say changes will curb underground sex trade
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
'He adored Trump, and then rejected him'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Apple kills its secret electric car project
Speed Read Many of the people from Project Titan are being reassigned to work on generative AI
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is Google's new AI bot 'woke'?
Talking Points Gemini produced images of female popes and Black Vikings. Now the company has stepped back.
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Elon Musk's most controversial moments
The Explainer The business mogul has a long history in the hot seat
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
2023: the year of the AI boom
the explainer This year, generative artificial intelligence bypassed the metaverse and became the next big thing in tech
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Detroit debuts America's first wireless charging road for electric vehicles
under the radar The Motor City is trying to stay at the forefront of automotive innovation
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Elon Musk's 'frivolous' but precedent-setting free speech fight with Media Matters
Talking Point The lawsuit is just the latest in Musk's ongoing tension with social media watchdogs
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Inside Sam Altman's 'extraordinary firing' from OpenAI
The Explainer AI superstar joins Microsoft after 'philosophical disagreement' with his old board that stunned tech world
By The Week UK Published
-
How Grok, Elon Musk's 'rebellious' AI bot, differs from the others
The Explainer Musk developed the bot as a competitor to ChatGPT
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published