White-hat hacker and Tesla P85D owner Jason Hughes recently found out an interesting detail while digging through the code in the latest firmware version of his Model S: A new model is in the works, and it’ll pack a battery bigger than ever.
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Hughes discovered the information about the P100D in firmware version 2.13.77. He then cryptically told Elon Musk and Tesla that he knew their secret:
@elonmusk @teslamotors #tesla I know your secret. SHA256 of best part: 5fc38436ec295b0049f186651ebba5fd55e8d7b81eb61cbd00d3f1bf18dd9c81
— Jason Hughes (@wk057) March 4, 2016
A day later, he found out that the firmware of his Tesla model was downgraded to version 2.12.45 without his knowledge. Mentioning that his car was hacked using “some method I was unaware of,” he told Musk about it in a tweet. However, the CEO, who’s used to answering back to critics, took no responsibility for the software downgrade.
“Wasn’t done at my request,” he said. “Good hacking is a gift.”
Musk previously challenged a New York Times article with data originating from the review car, Ars Technica reminds us, and canceled a customer’s order after a “rude” post. Perhaps Tesla removed the software update as it may have included additional hints about Tesla’s future P100D model.
@wk057 @TeslaMotors Wasn't done at my request. Good hacking is a gift.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 5, 2016
It’s not known when the P100D model will be launched. But Tesla is getting ready to start taking preorders for its cheapest electric car yet, the $35,000 Tesla Model 3, on April 1st.
