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Comment by jonawesomegreen | Hacker News Reader

The ban hammer would be my concern posting this blog. He would probably get away with it if he didn't publicize it, but my understanding is Tesla has no problem banning cars that it deems unauthorized from receiving updates, using supercharging, etc.

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That's such a weird sentence to read.

The idea of buying a car and being afraid to modify it because of how the manufacturer might react feels entirely dystopian to me.

I wonder if Musk can autoban cars Via twitter.

Also, I wonder if all Tesla’s have a God Mode that unlocks at the sound of Elons voice or will come get him if needed.

So if he is ever running away from a villain in a major city he can access a getaway car anywhere he sees a Tesla.

He just talks into his watch and the cars nearby surround him in a circle.

'The idea of buying a car and being afraid to modify it because of how the manufacturer might react feels entirely dystopian to me' That is exactly where we have been going. for years if you remove the plastic engine cover on Porsches you risk voiding your rights. Now we have the capability of cars that phone home with unauthorized mods being made illegal at the DMV, made illegible for sw updates etc etc. This is another area where our digital rights to privacy and ownership are under serious assault, much like smart phone OS bricking. You own it but you don't have any rights.

Banning it from continuing support and free services, kinda like voiding a warranty?

Absolutely - In the US anyway, it's illegal to void a warranty because you modify the product.

They don't need to cover any damage done by the modifications, but they can't deny warranty coverage to anything else.

I'm not an expert, but I think the relevant law is the Magnuson-Moss Act.

I’m not 100% sure but AFAIK tesla has done a really terrible job with the mechanisms they use to ban you from those.

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