Tesla FAQs

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What happens if I connect to one of my applications with the legacy flow and another with the new flow?

As long as you have access to the same set of permissions on Tesla’s side and have added our virtual key there will not be any conflicts while the legacy API is active.

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If my users have more than one Tesla on their account, will they need to add the virtual key to all of their vehicles?

Yes. You will need to add our virtual key to each vehicle on the Tesla account.

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What happens if I issue a command but Smartcar’s virtual key hasn’t been added to the vehicle?

We will throw a CONNECTED_SERVICES_ACCOUNT:VIRTUAL_KEY_REQUIRED error.

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What happens if I issue a command but the owner has revoked access through their Tesla portal?

We will throw a CONNECTED_SERVICES_ACCOUNT:PERMISSION error.

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What happens if a user doesn’t select the correct permissions on Tesla’s side?

Connect maps Tesla’s permissions to Smartcar’s and only grants your application access to the ones requested. If we do not get the corresponding permission from Tesla, we will not grant your application access and throw the PERMISSION:NULL error as per usual when you make an API request.

Your users will need to revoke access through the Tesla portal, then step through the flow again in order to fix this.

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How can I tell which cars have gone through the new flow?

The Migration Status make specific endpoint indicates if a vehicle still needs to be migrated to Tesla’s new API.

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Can owner and driver accounts authorize access with Smartcar through Connect?

Yes. Either account type can go through the Connect flow. As long as the Tesla account is attached to the vehicle, you can make requests to it.

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Does the user need to be next to vehicle when adding Smartcar’s virtual key?

No. However, Smartcar’s virtual key will need to be added from a phone that is already set up as a key for the vehicle from the owner’s account.

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Can driver profiles add Smartcar’s virtual key?

No. Only owners are able to add Smartcar’s virtual key. Once the owner has added the key, either account type will be able to process commands. While only owners are able to add Smartcar’s virtual key, drivers are still able to connect their accounts with Smartcar so your application can make requests to the vehicle. If a command is successful or not depends on if the virtual key has been added.

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Why are my users are seeing a location sharing notification on their navigation unit?

With the recent changes to data access, vehicles will transmit their live location if your application has requested access to location data. This notification was put in place by Tesla to ensure transparency for owners about what data is being shared and with whom.

The domain displayed will match the Virtual Key for your application.

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How can my users update their permissions with Tesla?

Please this guide for details on how to do facilitate this for your users.