A fabricated social media post attributed to Elon Musk claimed Tesla vehicles could be remotely restricted from crossing borders during a national draft, but the post is not authentic. The image, mimicking a post from Musk's X account, gained traction after White House comments on potential military drafts. Tesla has clarified it lacks the capability to disable vehicles in such ways.
In early March 2026, social media users shared a screenshot of an alleged X post from Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, stating that the company's vehicles would not be usable to flee the country if a national draft became necessary. The full text of the fake post read: "If a national draft ever becomes necessary, Teslas will not be usable to flee the country. Vehicles can be remotely restricted from crossing certain borders if required by law. Hopefully it never comes to that, but technology shouldn't be used to avoid civic duty."
Searches of Musk's X account returned no matching posts, with only four unrelated results for the word "draft." Reverse image searches on Google and TinEye confirmed the screenshot originated from user shares in early March, with no evidence of an original post. The misinformation spread widely on platforms like Threads, Facebook, and X, amassing thousands of shares.
The fake post circulated following a White House press briefing where Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed questions about a potential military draft amid U.S. and Israel initiating conflict with Iran. Leavitt stated that U.S. President Donald Trump "does not remove options off the table."
Tesla's official owner manuals describe remote vehicle communication limited to software updates, diagnostics, and owner-initiated features via the company's app, such as locking or unlocking doors, adjusting climate settings, and locating the car. The company has previously stated it cannot remotely shut down a moving vehicle, citing serious safety risks. Tesla's documentation does not mention any ability to restrict vehicles from crossing national borders or enforce government policies on travel.
Newsweek contacted Tesla for comment, but the company has not publicly addressed the viral image. This incident highlights ongoing challenges with misinformation about Tesla, including past false claims about remote vehicle disabling or cryptocurrency swaps.
