Let this be a lesson to all you rich folk with Teslas: If you're headed out to the desert, or some other place with spotty service, you better bring your key fob. Because if you rely on the Tesla mobile app to start your car, then stop in a place with no service, you may just become stranded in said desert.
Tesla owner named Ryan Negri found this out the hard way. As Mashable reports, Negri took to Instagram over the weekend to describe the scary experience, which occurred in Red Rock Canyon, Nevada, just a few miles from his home.
"The thought was to go for a quick drive to take some photos of the freshly-fallen mountain snow," he wrote. "Having only my phone in my pocket, I unlocked and started the car with it, and we left."
About six miles down the road, Negri stopped the car and got out to take care of his pets Mozy and Millie, who were also along for the ride. With the pets situated, he then tried to restart the car using the Tesla mobile app, only to find that he had no cell phone service, meaning his phone wasn't able to connect to the car to unlock it.
His wife, Amy Negri, then ran about two miles up the road to reach a signal where she could call a nearby friend to pick her up and get the actual key fob from their house.
"The key…will always be with me (now) when I drive that car," Negri wrote on Instagram.
Speaking with Mashable, Negri said he knew the app wouldn't work if he didn't have service. He just forgot about the spotty service in the area. Check out his full account of the incident below.
Stranded 6 miles from home, 2 miles from cell service; our Saturday morning. The thought was to go for a quick drive to take some photos of the freshly-fallen mountain snow. Having only my phone in my pocket, I unlocked and started the car with it, and we left. 6 miles down the road we decided to turn back, but before that, had to adjust Mozy & Millie's car bed, so I exited the vehicle...bad idea. Need to restart the car now, but, with no cell service, my phone can't connect to the car to unlock it. Even with cell service, the car would also need cell service to receive the signal to unlock. @amymnegri, the hero she is, started running to reach cell service height. After about 2 miles she reached signal and called a friend for a ride to the house to grab the key fob. The key that will always be with me (now) when I drive that car.