Tesla Parental Controls – Enhancing Safety for Young Drivers

Recently, Tesla rolled out an update that introduced an essential feature called Parental Controls. This feature is specifically designed to provide parents with peace of mind while their teenage drivers are behind the wheel.

Parental Controls offer a range of functionalities that not only restrict certain vehicle functions but also allow parents to monitor the vehicle’s location and usage in real-time. Let’s delve into what these controls can do and how you can enable them.

Understanding the Functionality

Tesla’s Parental Controls empower parents to set restrictions within the vehicle, ensuring a safer driving experience, especially for young drivers. The main features of Parental Controls include limiting speed and acceleration, enforcing safety features, and providing alerts for late-night driving. Each of these features can be customized based on individual preferences.

Speed & Acceleration Restrictions

One of the standout features of Tesla’s Parental Controls is the capability to set a maximum speed limit and restrict acceleration to Chill Mode. This safety measure reduces the vehicle’s horsepower and torque output, making it ideal for young or inexperienced drivers. Parents can set a maximum speed limit starting from 50 mph (80 km/h) and upwards, with the flexibility to temporarily increase speed in certain driving scenarios.

In addition, performance-related features such as Track Mode and Launch Mode are disabled for vehicles under Parental Control profiles, ensuring a safer driving environment.

Enforcing Safety Features

Parental Controls also ensure that key safety features such as Speed Limit Warning, Automatic Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Warning, and more remain active while the controls are enabled. These features are crucial for enhancing overall safety and are locked to prevent any accidental or intentional deactivation.

Night Driving Alert

Parents can set a curfew within Parental Controls to receive notifications if the vehicle is used during late-night hours. The curfew hours are preset between 11 pm and 4 am, providing an added layer of monitoring for restricted drivers.

Activation and Management

Enabling Parental Controls is a straightforward process that can be done either in-vehicle or through the Tesla app. By accessing the Vehicle Settings or Security & Safety section, parents can activate and customize the controls based on their preferences. A four-digit code is required to disable the controls once enabled.