I wonder how this is even remotely possible, given that Teslas can easily operate fully offline (which they frequently do in areas with poor cell reception). You can just build a small faraday cage encasing the modem so that it cannot receive signal, and you are good to go.

Also, I don't think that the drivetrain subsystem and the subsystem that is connected to the internet can even interop. I know for a fact that even if the main computer (the one that is connected to the big screen) on a tesla is rebooting or shutting off, you can still operate the car like usual.

It's been possible for over a decade with regular cars. OnStar can remotely disable cars. Many cars have devices that remotely disable the engine if the driver fails to make a payment.

So they are basically claiming that something is a problem, even though it is something that's straight up currently physically possible (but someone who reads that statement without knowing the actual details wouldn't know that it isn't currently possible)?

Disingenuous at best. Especially given that the parent comment said none of that. They essentially mocked people who believe that it isn't possible, and when they got pointed out that it isn't actually physically possible right now, the response is "well, not right now, but look at future possibilities!".

I could see this being a "feature" of leased vehicles for example since you don't own it.

Tesla's should be fully functional currently, it's the self-driving that's a subscription.

that feature has existed for over a decade. Miss a payment and your engine can be remotely disabled.

Well, certainly it's Bay Area companies leading the charge towards said dystopia. Google and Facebook come immediately to mind as far as villains in this particular plot.

Are you trying to scare people that their car may be disabled, when those same people already live in a society where police shoot and kill and pit maneuver drivers?

Wouldn't you rather have the car stop safely, instead of being pit maneuvered and flipped into a ditch?

That didn't happen. Police followed OJ for 50 miles and ultimately let him drive safely to his house.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._J._Simpson_murder_case#Br...

Scare? No.

I'm just pointing out that, just as pervasive corporate surveillance is now the norm on the internet, pervasive tracking and always-on kill switches for cars will soon become the new norm. Law enforcement will paint it exactly as you have done here, with all the pearl-clutching and "think of the children"-type arguments that always accompany a new overstep/affront against civil liberties.