"Six miles down the road we decided to turn back, but before that, had to adjust Mozy & Millie's car bed, so I exited the vehicle...bad idea," Negri said on Instagram. "Need to restart the car now, but, with no cell service, my phone can't connect to the car to unlock it."
What Negri didn't know before leaving the house without his keys was that the feature requires the owner's phone to have signal. Without signal it is unable to connect to Tesla's servers to unlock or start the car.
While wireless key technology is fairly common, smartphone car control is still a fairly new concept. Negri said he should have taken his keys as a precaution but also criticised Tesla for not having a contingency plan in such cases.
To save the family from being stranded in the desert all night, Negri's wife had to run two miles to find signal and call a friend to bring the key fob. Had they driven further into the canyon when the problem arose it could have been more difficult for them to get home.
This article was originally published by Daily Telegraph