Bolt for Tesla - Tasker Plugin

Review by eFreeware

Bolt for Tesla is an Android plugin from the developer Crazydog that connects a Tesla to the automation apps Tasker, Automate and MacroDroid. Instead of giving you its own control panel, it slots into whatever automation setup you already run, so your car becomes one more thing your phone can trigger. That is the main reason to consider it: it is not a standalone app so much as a bridge between your phone's automation engine and your vehicle.

The pitch is broad, and the developer sums it up by saying your imagination is the limit. In practice that means the plugin exposes a long list of car actions to your automation app, and the automation app decides when and why they fire. If you have never used Tasker or its peers, this will not be the app that teaches you; if you already live in that world, it is the piece that puts your Tesla under the same roof as everything else you have automated.

Model S, Model X, Model 3 and Cybertruck are all supported, covering most of Tesla's current lineup. The app is free to download, carries no ads, and offers in-app purchases, with a subscription now part of the picture. It has been on Google Play since August 2021 and was last updated in May 2025, and it holds a 4.8 average from 243 ratings across more than 5,000 installs.

What the plugin actually automates

The action list is the heart of the app. From your automation tool you can lock and unlock the doors, open and close the trunk and frunk, open and close the charge port, and start or stop charging. Windows go up and down, the horn honks, the lights flash, and homelink can be activated. Climate is covered too, with AC or heater control, max defrost, seat heaters and the steering wheel heater all on the menu.

Then there are the settings that are usually buried in the car's own interface. The plugin can change the charge limit, adjust charging amps, set a speed limit, manage scheduled charging, and toggle Sentry Mode, the sunroof and Bioweapon Defense Mode. Audio playback gets play, pause, skip and volume commands, and Remote Start is available as well. Software updates can be triggered from the same place.

The examples the developer gives show the flavor of it: unlocking with an NFC tag, cooling the cabin when the weather turns hot, or enabling keyless driving when a code arrives by text.

Reading the car, not just commanding it

Control is only half of the story. The plugin can also request data back from the vehicle, which your automation app can then act on. The developer suggests building real-time status widgets, writing tasks that respond to the car's current state, and setting up alerts for when something happens to the vehicle. That turns the car from a device you send commands to into a source of triggers you can build around.

There is a sending direction as well. The plugin can pass navigation destinations to the car, either by name and address or as GPS coordinates, and it can send video URLs. So a destination saved in a note or a calendar entry could, in principle, be pushed straight to the car's navigation rather than typed in by hand.

This is where the app earns its keep for tinkerers. A plugin that only fired actions would be useful; one that also reports state and accepts destinations is the difference between remote control and genuine automation.

The requirements and the cost

Two things shape who this app is for. The first is that you need Tasker, Automate or MacroDroid installed. The plugin supplies the Tesla-specific actions; the automation app supplies everything else.

The second is money. The developer notes that as of January 24, 2025, Bolt requires a subscription because Tesla now charges for access to its APIs. The app itself is free to download with no ads, but the in-app purchases tied to that subscription are part of using it.

There is also a permission to be aware of. Summon and Homelink need location access so the car can check you are nearby.

How I would approach setting it up

My advice is to start narrow. Pick one action you would genuinely use, such as locking the doors from an NFC tag or starting the climate control on a schedule, and get that working before you touch anything else. The action list is long enough that trying to wire up several behaviors at once is a good way to lose track of which task is doing what.

Once one action behaves, the data side is worth exploring next. A status widget or a simple alert based on the car's state is a gentle way to learn how the plugin reports information back, and it gives you something visible to confirm the connection is working. Destinations and video URLs are a natural follow-on if you already keep addresses in your phone.

It also helps to think about which of your existing automations would benefit from a car trigger, rather than inventing new ones from scratch. The plugin is at its most useful when it joins a workflow you already trust, not when it becomes a project of its own.

A plugin for people who already automate

The breadth of the action list is genuinely impressive, covering everything from the trunk to the steering wheel heater, and the data and destination features give it depth beyond simple remote control.

The caveats are structural rather than hidden. You need a separate automation app and the skills to use it. Neither is a flaw in the app so much as the shape of the problem it solves.

If you already run Tasker, Automate or MacroDroid and want your Tesla to be part of those automations, this is the tool built for exactly that. This app suits people who want to trigger Tesla actions from Tasker automations rather than from a standalone control app.

What's new in version 7.0.2

Fixed occasional crash