In early 2024, Tesla introduced strict API rate limits, reducing the number of commands to just 50 per day. This disrupted my smart charging automations, which were sending thousands of commands on a daily basis for tasks like solar charging and load balancing. To overcome this, I re-implemented Tesla's vehicle protocol in C++ for the ESP32 microcontroller, enabling local control of my Tesla by acting as a BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) vehicle key.

In this talk, I'll give an overview of Tesla's vehicle protocol, dive into BLE communication using an ESP32, and show practical ESPHome implementations for common vehicle controls. The result is a cheap, open-source solution operating entirely locally with sub-second response times - no internet or API tokens required.