In the age of smart everything, sometimes dumb tools still win.

In a recent TikTok clip that’s been viewed more than 410,000 times, creator Original Dr. Auto (@itsmedrauto) showed the world how to physically “jailbreak” the high-tech electric vehicle. Dr. A has created several videos where he’s modified Teslas—often for hire, he claims—in ways that involve altering circuit boards and electronic parts. 

The video opens with Dr. A inside a Tesla he’s been hired to jailbreak, explaining he needs the owner’s glove box PIN to complete the job. Without that info, he shows us another way.

 

After casually popping off the trim panel on the side of the dashboard, just next to where the glove box sits, he probes behind the plastic interior with a simple screwdriver-like tool and flips a hidden release. The glove box drops open like it’s just been told a secret. No digital system is engaged at all. 

Tesla’s glove box PIN is meant to be a privacy and security feature, basically a four-digit code that locks access to the glove compartment. Drivers can enable it in the settings menu to keep valuables safe, especially when handing over the car to a valet, loaning it out, or using remote services. (InsideEVs contacted Dr. A via direct message and Tesla via email for comment.)

Dr. A’s workaround skips the software entirely—the physical equivalent of climbing through the window after locking the front door.

In the world of Teslas and other electronic devices, “jailbreaking” usually means hacking into the vehicle’s software to unlock features Tesla would prefer you pay for. Think heated rear seats, performance boosts, or access to hidden diagnostics screens. Those are features that are often already built into the car, just waiting for a software update or a few hundred bucks to come alive. Jailbreaking skips the checkout process and flips the switches manually.

This usually involves rooting the car’s operating system, gaining administrator access, and installing custom code to override restrictions. It’s the kind of thing that makes Tesla’s engineers sweat and Reddit users cheer. (For legal reasons, InsideEVs does not recommend doing anything that might void your car’s warranty or is forbidden by the owner’s manual or terms of service.)

This is a manual override that bypasses Tesla’s digital defenses entirely. It’s more pick-the-lock than hack-the-mainframe, and in some ways, that makes it even more interesting. While Tesla focuses on digital security, this is apparently a vulnerability you can reach with your fingers.

The glove box trick taps into the growing tension between car owners, curious tinkerers, and the companies that want to lock down their machines like Fort Knox. Many software-defined vehicles and EVs, including those from Tesla, can be more difficult to repair yourself than old-school gas cars ever were. (Then again, playing shadetree mechanic to a modern gas engine with forced induction, direct injection and lots of sensors is no picnic, either.)  

That’s why these little DIY wins feel so satisfying to the online Tesla crowd. They raise the question: What else is hidden just behind the paneling? If the glove box PIN can be bypassed with a twist of the wrist, how many other features are one plastic tab away from freedom?

At the heart of it is a deeper debate: When you buy an EV—often more like a smartphone on wheels than a traditional car—do you actually own it, or just rent access to the software that makes it run? The rise of “right to repair” advocates has only amplified that question, with Tesla often cast as the villain in a broader fight over user autonomy in the age of smart everything.

Tesla’s ongoing legal battles over repair restrictions have intensified the national conversation around the “right to repair” movement. Owners and independent repair shops are challenging Tesla’s tight control over vehicle maintenance and parts, arguing that such practices limit consumer choice and inflate repair costs.

In March 2023, a class-action antitrust lawsuit was filed against Tesla by Virginia M. Lambrix in San Francisco, alleging that the company unlawfully monopolized the market for maintenance and repair of its vehicles. The lawsuit claims that Tesla’s design requires diagnostic and software updates that only the company can provide, effectively forcing owners to use Tesla’s services and parts.

While six of the eight alleged antitrust violations were dismissed, in June 2024, U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson allowed two claims to proceed, including alleged violations of California’s Cartwright Act and Unfair Competition Law, citing evidence of a repairs monopoly and parts monopoly by Tesla. 

Further complicating matters, Tesla faces another class-action lawsuit alleging that it manipulates odometer readings to accelerate warranty expiration and avoid repair costs. Plaintiff Nyree Hinton claims the odometer on his 2020 Model Y overestimated mileage by at least 15%, causing his 50,000-mile warranty to expire prematurely. Tesla has moved the case to federal court and denied all material allegations. 

These legal challenges coincide with a broader legislative push for right-to-repair laws across the United States. In October 2023, California enacted Senate Bill No. 244, requiring electronics manufacturers to provide tools, parts, software, and documentation for specific durations after production. This law, effective last July, aims to empower consumers and independent repair shops by ensuring access to necessary repair resources. 

Viewers of Dr. A’s clip showed a mix of praise and worry over the vulnerabilities for Tesla vehicles.

“Locks are only a deterrent. I fear everyone knows this,” one observed.

And another cautioned against the company’s possible punishment for the tinkering: “lol good luck with warranty and stuff or if you need stuff replaced bc now it’s going to cost you more.”

In other words: proceed at your own risk.