Intro

I purchased a Tesla Model 3 this year to play chess against my car accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy. I’ve wanted to test my chess skills against Tesla ever since I saw Fabiano Caruana’s game a few years ago. Now that I have the opportunity, I thought it would be cool to share my experience with the Chess.com community!

"How about a nice game of chess?"

My brilliant idea for this blog was to play my match against Tesla while cruising down I-95 on Auto Pilot. For reasons unknown, Tesla decided to revoke our ability to play immersive games while driving at high speeds. Therefore, my driveway had to suffice as the venue.

Tesla has four levels of increasing difficulty (you can also play against another passenger). In an homage to sci-fi classics of my childhood, they are named: Master Control Program, Joshua, Omnius, and SENTRY. I played one game against each level with the white pieces. There is no time control - only a record of total thinking time - so I tried to play at a blitz pace. For your reference, my playing strength over-the-board is expert-level (USCF 2025 at the time of this blog).

Are you a super-nerd?!

You're a nerd for reading this blog. You're a super nerd if you can ace the quiz below. If you do, then share your results in the comments below. You will be anointed a super nerd! Of course, all results are subject to Chess.com's Fair Play Analysis.

"Games? You want games? I'll give you games!"

I figured Tesla would be a strong opponent, especially at the higher levels. But after I derezzed the Master Control Program with ease, I realized the next three levels weren't going to be much of a challenge. I went on to win the match with a perfect score (4.0/4.0)!

Can you find the critical move from each game? For those who just want to enjoy the show, the '?' button will display the puzzle solution and the full game.

Software Update

Your Tesla regularly receives over-the-air software updates that add new features and enhance existing ones. If I were Elon Musk for the day, here are the chess improvements I would include in the next update:

New Themes:  Do you like chess pieces that would make Howard Staunton roll over in his grave? What about all purple all the time? Well then, Tesla has you covered. For the rest of us, customizable piece sets and boards would be a sight for sore eyes.

Time Controls:  My Tesla can go 0 to 60 MPH in 3.1 seconds, but took over 10 seconds to make a simple recapture. Where’s the chess clock? Tesla's acceleration modes already offer the perfect inspiration. Chill: 5 minutes; Sport: 3 minutes; Insane: 1 minute.

More Levels:  I think the difficulty levels offer the perfect challenge to a beginner or casual player killing time at a supercharger. But if you're reading this blog, you may find some levels pretty easy to beat. HAL 9000 would be my pick to challenge strong tournament players. Which AI would you choose?

Thanks so much for reading my blog! I hope you enjoyed this inside look at Tesla. Leave your comments and questions below.