The Tesla app during a rental: everything you can (and can't) control.

Every CarBabies rental includes temporary access to the Tesla app, scoped to your trip dates. If you've never used it, it's one of the most underrated features of Tesla ownership — and now, briefly, rentership. Here's what you can do with it, what you can't, and why some things are locked.

Setup takes about 30 seconds

At handoff, I'll either:

• Add you as a temporary driver through my Tesla owner account. You'll get an email invite from Tesla with a link. Download the Tesla app on your phone, sign in with the email you booked on Turo with, and the car shows up in the app.
• Or hand you the Tesla key card if you'd prefer a physical key instead of app access. The card works like a hotel key — tap it on the B-pillar to unlock, place it on the center console to drive. Many renters choose this route and skip the app entirely.

App access and the card both work for the full length of your trip. At return, I remove your access and the car disappears from your app.

The 10 things most renters actually use

1. Pre-heat (or pre-cool) the cabin before you walk out.

Open the app, tap Climate, set your temperature, hit the Start Climate button. The car heats up in winter / cools down in summer while you're still finishing coffee. For hot August days at Compo Beach, this is the move. For icy January mornings in Stamford, same.

2. Lock and unlock the car.

Tap Lock/Unlock. You don't need the key card nearby — the app works anywhere there's cellular signal. Dropped something in the trunk and already walked away? Open the trunk from the app.

3. Find the car in a parking lot.

Tap the car icon on the map in the app. It shows your car's exact location, with directions. Lifesaver at the Westfield Mall, at JFK long-term, at the Newport mansions parking lot — anywhere you forget where you parked.

4. Honk the horn / flash the lights.

Inside the car controls menu. Useful for the same reason — finding the car across a packed lot at night.

5. Check charge status remotely.

See exactly how much battery is left, how much range you have, and how fast it's charging if plugged in. If you're at dinner and plugged into a destination charger at the hotel, you can watch the % climb in real time.

6. Start / stop charging.

If you're plugged in at a Supercharger and ready to leave, you can stop the session from the app before walking to the car. If you plugged into a destination charger that charges per hour, same thing.

7. Open the frunk and trunk remotely.

Groceries in both hands walking up to the car? Open the frunk (front trunk) or trunk from your phone before you reach the door.

8. Change the fan direction, music, and seats.

Minor but delightful: adjust climate, music source, seat heater levels — all from the phone, without touching the touchscreen. Great while a passenger is driving.

9. See your trip history.

The app logs every drive — distance, duration, start / end location. If you need to track miles for a reimbursement or just want to see where you went, it's all there.

10. Phone-as-key (walk-up unlock).

If you set up Phone Key, the car unlocks when you approach and locks when you walk away — no card, no tap, no app button. This is Tesla's magic trick. Works via Bluetooth, zero latency.

What's locked (and why)

Software updates.

Only I can approve software updates on my own cars. During your trip, if an update becomes available, it won't install itself. (You wouldn't want it to anyway — some updates require 30-60 minutes of downtime.)

Driver profile changes.

Mirror position, steering wheel height, and auto-seat-adjust are tied to the main driver profile. You can adjust them during your drive, but they revert at the next cold start. Easier for me when the car comes back.

Billing and payment info.

Supercharging during your trip is billed to my Tesla account, and I pass the cost through to you at trip end via Turo. You don't see payment data; I don't share mine. Clean separation.

Dog mode, camp mode, Sentry live camera.

These require full owner permissions and aren't available to temporary drivers. If you need Dog Mode specifically for a trip (climate control for a pet left briefly in the car), text me — I can enable it on request for your rental window.

What happens when you return the car

At the end of your trip, I remove you from the car's driver list. The car disappears from your Tesla app. Any addresses you navigated to, any Spotify / Apple Music accounts you connected, any Bluetooth phone pairings — all can be wiped by you before return (easier) or by me after (also fine). I don't look at trip data unless there's a specific reason to.

The Tesla app during a rental is 90% of the Tesla ownership experience, for a weekend. Pre-heat the car before you walk out of a Newport dinner. Find it in a crowded Hamptons parking lot. Watch the charge climb while you eat. It's the small stuff that makes you understand why Tesla owners won't go back.

The one thing I always tell first-timers

The app is nice, but the car is nicer. Don't miss the drive because you're staring at the phone. Set the app up on handoff, use it for the convenience stuff, and spend the rest of the trip driving.