14 DAY TRIAL // You wouldn’t normally expect a mobile app like Tesla’s to miss essential security functionality but here we are still unable to configure two-factor authentication in the official Tesla app on the iPhone.
As weird as that may sound, Tesla somehow forgot to implement 2FA in its iPhone app, despite the fact that this is pretty much the easiest way to secure something against potential attacks.
Elon Musk, however, has recently confirmed that Tesla is finally working on making this happen, revealing that it shouldn’t take too long before two-factor authentication goes live in the App Store.
“Sorry, this is embarrassingly late. Two factor authentication via sms or authenticator app is going through final validation right now,” Musk revealed on Twitter.
Why two-factor authentication is so important
In case you’re wondering why two-factor authentication is needed for Tesla’s mobile app, a simple look at its feature lineup should be enough for everybody.
The Tesla iPhone app can be used to control all kinds of car features remotely, including locking or unlocking the vehicle, venting and closing the panoramic roof, updating the software over the air, locating the car and tracking its movement, and flashing the lights.
Needless to say, someone who hijacks the mobile app can get access to the Tesla car and all these features, so two-factor authentication is without a doubt good news for all Tesla owners.
The most recent version of the Tesla app for iPhone users landed on June 30 as 3.10.7, and according to the official changelog published in the App Store, it includes nothing more than minor fixes and improvements – as a matter of fact, Tesla itself doesn’t provide too many details on its new software updates, and changelogs are very often just generic information pointing to small changes under the hood and nothing more.