Tesla 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app for your Tesla Account

Your Tesla Account holds your owner resources and payment information, and it's the account you sign in to in the Tesla app (Tesla, Tesla). Tesla uses two terms that are easy to mix up:

• Two-factor authentication (2FA) is what you get by default: when you sign in, Tesla sends a code to your email address or phone number.
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is the optional upgrade: a code from an authenticator app on your phone (Tesla).

So if you want an authenticator app, look for "Multi-Factor Authentication" in your settings, not 2FA. Tesla's pages don't say MFA is required for anything. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Tesla steps come from Tesla's own support pages, linked below. Tesla's website blocks automated requests, so on October 20, 2026, we read archived copies of those pages on web.archive.org, the newest saved between April and June 2026. We haven't tested the steps on a Tesla Account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Turn on MFA with an authenticator app

Tesla's MFA page describes these steps on the Tesla website (Tesla):

1. Sign in to your Tesla Account at tesla.com/teslaaccount with your email and password.
2. Go to Account Settings > Security.
3. Next to Multi-Factor Authentication, tap Set Up, then Next. If Tesla asks for your account credentials again, enter them.
4. Tesla shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the QR code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
5. If you can't scan it, tap Set up manually and copy the key. Tesla calls it a security key, but it's text, not a hardware key. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, and paste it as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
6. Back on the Tesla website, enter the passcode Novaz shows.
7. Tap Get New Passcodes and save the backup passcodes.

Tesla doesn't say how many digits its passcodes have or how often they change, so scan the QR code if you can: it carries those settings to your app. A typed key always gets 6 digits every 30 seconds in Novaz.

Older versions of the page said Profile Settings instead, so labels may differ.

Save your backup passcodes

Each backup passcode works once, for when you can't reach your authenticator app or phone. When they run out, make a new set (Tesla):

1. Go to Account Settings > Security.
2. Next to Multi-Factor Authentication, tap Manage.
3. Under Backup Passcodes, tap Manage, then Get New Passcodes.

Tesla doesn't say how many you get, or whether new ones cancel the old ones. Save them even if you back up Novaz: they get you in if the phone is lost with no iCloud backup or backup file, or if your backup is older than your Tesla setup. Keep them in a password manager or on paper. More in 2FA backup codes.

When Tesla asks for a passcode

Once MFA is on, Tesla asks you to confirm it's you with a registered device each time you sign in to your Tesla Account (Tesla). The Tesla app uses the same account (Tesla), but Tesla's MFA page only covers the website, not the app's sign-in screens.

If Tesla rejects your passcode

Tesla's pages don't cover rejected passcodes. The usual cause is the iPhone's clock: open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Moving to a new iPhone

Tesla lists each authenticator under Registered Devices, but doesn't explain adding a second phone or moving one. What it does describe is removing registered devices (see the last section). Do that while you can still sign in, then set MFA up again with the new phone. If you use Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, you can instead restore your accounts on the new iPhone and keep the same codes. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Tesla's account help points to its MFA page, which gives two routes (Tesla, Tesla):

• Use a backup passcode. Sign in on the Tesla website. When asked for your MFA passcode, tap Verify another way, enter an unused backup passcode and tap Submit. Then remove the lost phone under Registered Devices and set MFA up again.
• No passcodes left? Contact Tesla's Customer Support team. The page doesn't say what Tesla asks for to prove the account is yours, or how long it takes.

More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning MFA off

Tesla turns MFA off only when no registered devices are left (Tesla):

1. Sign in on the Tesla website, with a backup passcode if you need one.
2. Go to Account Settings > Security, then tap Manage next to Multi-Factor Authentication.
3. Under Registered Devices, tap Manage, then tap Remove on every device.

You're then back to codes by email or text (Authenticator app vs SMS). In Novaz, open the Tesla entry and tap Remove account.

Official Tesla help

• Multi-Factor Authentication
• Tesla Account Security
• Tesla Account Support
• Tesla App Support