Could that Tesla scene on Leave the World Behind actually happen?

If you’ve watched the latest Netflix drama Leave the World Behind, like us, you were probably left with more questions than answers. That’s because the psychological thriller – based on the 2020 novel by Rumaan Alam – sets the scene for how the world could look if we were all cut off from the internet, mobile phone towers, and pretty much all communication. 

But while the scripting could’ve been better and the plot lines were fairly predictable, one particularly harrowing scene stood out to us. And it involved lots of Teslas.

In case you still haven’t seen it, we won’t ruin the entire movie for you; just this one (haunting) Tesla scene. Halfway through the film, when a cyber-attack unleashes chaos in New York, a family holiday in Long Island turns into a survival mission of sorts, as Amanda Sandford (played by Julia Roberts) attempts to escape to New Jersey with her family.

When they hit the main road in their Jeep Grand Cherokee – which somehow still operates fine despite aeroplanes falling out of the sky and cargo ships having their navigation systems hacked so they crash into land – they quickly become trapped in a traffic jam.

As the camera pans out to an overhead shot, you see two rows of white Tesla Model 3s, banked up for miles after rear-ending – or driving into – one another.

Upon closer inspection, Amanda Sandford sees there are no people around – drivers or passengers – and a dooming close-up of a sticker that reveals the self-driving capabilities of the Model 3, including ‘full self-driving capability’.

You see the cogs turning in her head before she realises another Tesla is hurtling down the road at highway speeds towards the family in their Jeep, which is stopped several metres behind the carnage.

She sprints back to the SUV to move it just in the nick of time, before another Model 3 slams into the growing pile of electric destruction.

We won’t say anymore, so as not to ruin it, but essentially, viewers are left to assume that hackers have taken over Tesla’s self-driving software and set their navigation systems up to send hundreds of the electric vehicles to the same location, to clog the roads and destroy as many forms of transportation as possible.

The catastrophic scene – like most incidents leading up to it – feels eerily realistic and possible, which is why it’s such a hot topic. We all want to know if this could actually happen IRL (in real life).

If you think about the fact that over-the-air updates and cloud storage even exist, there’s little reason ultra-smart hackers couldn’t gain access to Tesla’s self-driving software.

There are also several vehicle manufacturers (including Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, and Polestar) that allow owners to download performance-enhancing ‘boost’ software to make their vehicles faster.

You can even remotely drive your Hyundai Kona, for Pete’s sake! Albeit at super low speeds, but it begs the question nonetheless, could vehicles with that tech be hacked, too? Could the maximum speed it functions (currently a slow walk) be increased, too?

Even more interesting - and perhaps, chilling - is the fact that Barack and Michelle Obama are executive producers of the film. Yes, that’s former US president, Barack Obama, just to clarify.

But while many have shrugged it off as just another one of the couple’s entertainment endeavours – (they own Higher Ground Productions and have produced other films including Fatherhood and Rustin) – it’s little surprise the internet is swirling with conspiracy theories and rumours the movie is indeed, a warning from the Obamas, whom would no doubt have some great political (and security) insider knowledge.

So, to answer the question, could something reminiscent of the Tesla scene in LTWB happen IRL, we can only go by what we know, and while we ‘never say never’, there’s evidence that shows the security systems in Teslas are difficult to jailbreak.

And, while overseas research suggests hacking into paywalled features to gain free access to features like heated seats is possible right now, it’s thought to be almost impossible to jailbreak a Tesla the way it unfolded in LTWB. For now…

Innocent entertainment or a warning to all, Leave the World Behind certainly makes you think.

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