Tesla Owner Stranded in Desert, and Not for Lack of Charge

Ryan Negri relied on phone to start car, but they were out of range
By Elizabeth Armstrong Moore,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 18, 2017 6:51 AM CST
Updated Jan 22, 2017 11:33 AM CST
Tesla Owner Stranded in Desert, and Not for Lack of Charge
File photo of Tesla Motors Model S cars being charged.   (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

One Tesla Model S driver learned the hard way that technology has its limits. In a story he tells on Instagram, Ryan Negri describes venturing out into the Nevada desert with his wife and two dogs: "The thought was to go for a quick drive to take some photos of the freshly-fallen mountain snow." Already outside and ever efficient, he figured he'd be fine to leave his key fob in his house; his phone was in his pocket, and he used it to unlock and start the electric car via Tesla's Keyless Driving feature. "Bad idea," he'd later write, only of course he didn't realize it at the time.

Six miles into the trip, Negri and his wife decided to head back, but he got out of the car to adjust Mozy and Millie's dog bed. That's where the mistake became glaringly obvious. He had to restart the car, but his phone was now useless because they were out of range in the desert—a classic reminder that "too much technology can be a bad thing," observes BGR. "I forgot when you get out of the driver's seat, you have to re-initiate the sequence to unlock Keyless Driving," Negri tells Mashable. His wife, whom he describes as a "hero," ran 2 miles until she found cell service and called a friend to grab the key fob and drive to their location. Now, Negri writes, the key "will always be with me when I drive the car." (A complaint on Twitter prompted a big change for Tesla drivers.)

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