By: Otaiba Ahsan

Tesla has been a trendsetter for several years now in the automotive space by introducing fresh ideas and features. One of these innovations was offering a mobile app that pairs with the car to greatly improve the ownership experience. So, what can the Tesla app do? Continue reading for more.

How to Set Up the Mobile App

The app allows owners to communicate with their Tesla vehicle remotely using their mobile phones. To set this feature up, you’ll need to:

1. Download the mobile app to your phone, and then enter your Tesla login credentials within the app itself.
2. Next, enable mobile access to your Tesla when sitting in the car by tapping Controls > Safety > Allow Mobile Access.
3. Lastly, turn your phone’s Bluetooth setting to ON. See our guide on how to pair a Bluetooth device to your Tesla for more.

NOTE: Your phone and vehicle must be actively connected to cellular service or Wi-Fi for the app to communicate with your vehicle. It’s important to always keep a functional physical key readily available in case these services ever drop on you.

Once you’re logged in, you can tap the Profile tab located at the top corner to add a different vehicle associated with your Tesla account if you have more than one. You can also manage your account information, navigate to the Tesla shop, view order history, and much more.

Available Controls

Once you’re set-up, you can use the app to do several things such as:

• Lock or unlock the car, and being able to see the live location of your Tesla at all times.
• Heating or cooling the cabin climate. This is especially important when preconditioning the vehicle for driving, which should always be done no matter if it’s hot or cold.
• Checking the car’s charging information such as battery percentage, statistics for charging, opening and closing the charge port, changing the charge limit, and more.
• Viewing the live cameras for Sentry Mode and toggling overall security settings for the vehicle itself.
• Other convenient features include opening the front trunk, slightly opening the windows with the vent feature, viewing the odometer as well as the VIN, and much more.

In short, the Tesla app is meant to be a place where you can complete most essential actions that you could also do from within your car. This adds great value to the ownership experience.

The Bottom Line

What can the Tesla app do? From being a remote car starter to a live security camera, the app is used for more than just simple controls. It’s an essential part of the ownership experience, and covers the most frequent pain points for owners so that they can be done remotely. Tesla as a company continues to add new uses and controls for the app, and this will only improve over time.