# Setup guide

> Connect your Tesla, link your AI assistant, and start talking to your car.

Welcome. This guide is everything you need to connect your Tesla to an AI
assistant through mytesla.io and get useful things done.

- **Who it's for:** humans with a Tesla who want their AI chat to do more than
  answer questions — to actually act on real-world things.
- **How it works in one sentence:** mytesla.io is an [MCP](https://modelcontextprotocol.io)
  server. Your AI connects to it, it connects to your Tesla, and the AI can
  read the car's state or send commands in response to plain-English asks.
- **What it costs:** $4.99/month (Driver, 500 credits) or $9.99/month (Driver Max,
  1,500 credits). See the [billing policy](./billing-policy.md) for the full
  details on upgrades, downgrades, refunds, and cancellations.

## 1. Set up (one-time, ~3 minutes)

1. Go to https://mytesla.io and sign in. We'll email you a six-digit code —
   enter it to finish logging in. (No passwords; we don't want to manage them,
   you don't want to remember them.)
2. On the dashboard, click **Connect Tesla**. Tesla will ask you to authorise
   mytesla.io — the scope you grant controls what we can do (read data, wake
   the car, send signed commands). Come back here when done.
3. The dashboard will show a **Register virtual key** step. Open the link on
   your phone's browser and tap **Approve** on your Tesla's touchscreen (or in
   the Tesla app). This tells your car that commands signed by mytesla.io are
   trusted. One-time per vehicle.
4. Pick a plan (Driver or Driver Max). You'll land on Stripe Checkout, then back
   on the dashboard with credits ready.
5. Connect your AI.

## 2. Connect your AI

### Claude.app (web or desktop)

- Settings → **Connectors** → **Add connector**.
- Server URL: `https://mcp.mytesla.io/mcp`
- Claude opens our OAuth consent screen; you approve.
- Done. Ask Claude "how's my Tesla?" to check.

### Claude Code (CLI)

```sh
claude mcp add --transport http mytesla https://mcp.mytesla.io/mcp
```

Then `/mcp login mytesla` to sign in.

### Other MCP clients

Any client that speaks HTTP MCP with OAuth 2.1 authorisation works. Point it at
`https://mcp.mytesla.io/mcp`. The server publishes its OAuth metadata at
`https://mcp.mytesla.io/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource` and
`.../oauth-authorization-server` if your client needs it.

## 3. What you can do

Just ask. The AI picks the right tool. Here are some prompts that work:

**Quick glance**

- "How's my car?"
- "Is it locked? What's the battery at?"
- "Did I leave the windows open?"

**Climate**

- "Pre-condition the cabin to 72°F."
- "Turn on the driver seat heater on high."
- "Defrost the windshield."
- "Turn on Dog Mode."

**Charging**

- "Charge to 80%."
- "Start charging." / "Stop charging."
- "Schedule departure for 7am tomorrow with preconditioning."
- "Throttle charging to 16 amps."

**Access**

- "Lock the car." / "Unlock."
- "Open the frunk." / "Open the trunk."

**Navigation & home**

- "Navigate to 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway."
- "Open the garage door."

**Alerts**

- "Flash the lights — I can't find it."
- "Honk once."

**Security**

- "Turn on Sentry Mode."
- "Enable valet mode." (the AI asks you to set a 4-digit PIN)
- "Set a speed limit of 70 mph."

## 4. How credits work

- Driver = 500 credits/month; Driver Max = 1,500 credits/month. Resets on your
  billing date.
- Most commands cost **1 credit**. Waking a sleeping car costs **10**.
- Free commands: `get_vehicles` (listing connected cars). Once per session at
  start-up.
- Unused monthly credits don't roll over. Extra usage credits (purchased
  separately) *do* roll over, but expire 90 days after purchase.

If you're running low the AI will mention it in its reply so you're not caught
out mid-conversation.

## 5. Why some commands fail

- **"Car is asleep."** Normal — Teslas go to low-power after sitting a while.
  The AI can call `wake_vehicle` for you (10 credits).
- **"Not plugged in"** (charging commands) — the cable must be physically
  connected. We can't do that for you.
- **"Not supported on this trim"** — some commands apply to specific models
  (sun_roof_control = older Model S panoramic; set_seat_cooler = ventilated
  seats; set_steering_wheel_heater = heated wheel). A retry won't help.
- **"Cabin comfort remote settings not enabled"** — flip the toggle in the
  Tesla app: Controls → Safety → Allow Mobile Access / Remote Cabin Comfort
  (exact menu varies by software version), then retry.
- **"Virtual key required"** — you missed step 3 of setup, or the car lost
  the pairing. Re-open the link from your dashboard to register again.
- **"Rate limited"** — you or your AI is hammering us. Wait a minute.

If a command fails in a way that doesn't match the list above and the
explanation doesn't make sense, ask your AI to **file a bug report** for you.
It'll take 5 seconds and helps us fix things faster.

## 6. Privacy basics

- We do not store your vehicle's location, charge history, or drive history.
  Live data is fetched per request and handed back to your AI; nothing persists
  on our side.
- We do log that a tool was called, by whom, and whether it succeeded, to
  compute your balance and diagnose errors.
- We never train AI models on your conversations or vehicle data.

Full details in the [privacy policy](./privacy-policy.md).

## 7. Safety

- Don't rely on mytesla.io for anything where a missed command could cause
  harm. Tesla's own app and the physical controls in the car are the
  authoritative interface. In particular: don't leave pets or children in the
  car trusting that pre-conditioning will work from a chat.
- Commands can be delayed by Tesla's API or the car's cellular connectivity.
  "Done" from the AI means the command was accepted, not necessarily that the
  physical action has already happened.

## 8. Support

- **Billing questions:** email support@mytesla.io.
- **Security reports:** email security@mytesla.io.
- **Bugs with commands:** just ask your AI to file a bug report. We read
  every one.
- **Account changes, deletion, data export:** support@mytesla.io — we'll
  respond within 30 days (faster for urgent issues).

## 9. What's not here yet

A partial list of things we've decided not to build in Phase 1, so you know
what to not ask for:

- **Schedule recurring routines** ("every morning at 7 pre-condition") —
  your AI client should handle this via its own scheduling, or via a calendar
  MCP.
- **Multi-vehicle batch commands** — each command targets one VIN. Ask for
  each car individually.
- **Tesla Solar / Powerwall** — separate product area, maybe later.
- **Fleet commands** (> 3 cars per account) — we're a consumer service.
  Contact us if you have a specific use case.