Many automakers are exploring a new business model that would see them charge fees to access features inside a car. If automakers can switch features on and off remotely and even lock performance behind software gates, then they can charge for them.
“We own the car. And, we don’t want to pay these $300 for the rear heated seats.” That’s how Christian Werling, a student at Technische Universität Berlin, explains his decision to hack into the operating system powering a Tesla. Werling and his team of three students changed the supply voltage that powers the AMD processor running the car’s infotainment system and were able to get paid upgrades for free on an unspecified Tesla model.