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Elon Musk Calls Hackers' Findings on Tesla Autopilot Flaws ‘Solid Work’

Tencent Keen Security Lab said it was able to activate automatic windshield wipers, control the steering system of a Model S car.

Elon Musk Calls Hackers' Findings on Tesla Autopilot Flaws ‘Solid Work’
Elon Musk, co-founder and chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., speaks during an unveiling event for the Tesla Model Y crossover electric vehicle in Hawthorne, California, U.S. (Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk praised a security lab’s findings of flaws in Tesla Inc.’s driver-assistance system Autopilot, including a hack the group said could lead the company’s electric cars to enter into oncoming traffic.

Tencent Keen Security Lab said in a blog post Monday that it was able to activate automatic windshield wipers, and that it was able to control the steering system of a Model S using a wireless gamepad. It also said placing markings on the road can trick Autopilot.

“We proved that by placing interference stickers on the road, the Autopilot system will capture these information and make an abnormal judgement, which causes the vehicle to enter into the reverse lane,” the lab said in its blog post dated March 29.

Tesla told the lab the vulnerability that allowed hackers to control the Model S steering has been addressed by security updates, and that the other flaws weren’t real-world concerns, according to the blog post.

To contact the reporter on this story: Craig Trudell in New York at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net, Cecile Daurat

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