Police use app to track stolen Tesla, 2 arrested after chase

Excellent! Glad those guys were caught. I hope this sort of news discourages future theft attempts.

Would be interesting to know how they managed to drive off with it? Key still in the car?

yeah they're lucky it didn't end worse.

"Police responded with a helicopter and ground units. After spotting the stolen car, a chase ensued through the streets of La Jolla and then onto southbound Interstate 5, where officers deployed spike strips."

beun said:

Would be interesting to know how they managed to drive off with it? Key still in the car?

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1. Places key on window sill some 15 feet from car.
2. Climbs into MS and tries to drive away.
3. Dash complains: "Car Off, Key Not In Car"
4. Car goes nowhere, nada, nichts.

Forget exactly how many times I've done this . . paranoia never ceases.
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Yes, the real question that the article does not address is how were the thieves able to drive the car? One of the owners must have left a key fob in the car. There is no other way to get the car into Drive.

It doesn't sound like the thieves could have been smart enough to figure out a way to hack the car and get it into Drive mode without a fob since they didn't even realize that the car's location could be tracked via a smartphone app so they didn't also figure out a way to turn off the car's 3G connection or block the GPS antennas.

I'd like there to be a way to put a code in that is require to disable remote access. Once thieves figure out that it just takes 2-3 touches on the display this nice feature will be worthless.

Check out the address for the incident on Google Maps. Its a big complex, and some parking spots are near the houses - however they look like assigned parking, not visitor. Would be interesting to know if the car was close enough to the house to pick up on the FOB.

I'll bet on leaving the fob in the car. I've done that more than once. :-( Also when we have driven together, my wife has left her fob in her purse, and then put it in the trunk.

efusco said:

I'd like there to be a way to put a code in that is require to disable remote access. Once thieves figure out that it just takes 2-3 touches on the display this nice feature will be worthless.

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+1!

efusco said:

I'd like there to be a way to put a code in that is require to disable remote access. Once thieves figure out that it just takes 2-3 touches on the display this nice feature will be worthless.

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We've been asking for a PIN to disable remote access for over 2 years. My service reps know other owners and I have asked over and over for it. VERY disappointed in Tesla for not including a PIN for Tesla / owners YET to add this simple feature. Version 6?

Also, the story states the owner(s) left the fob in the car.

astrotoy said:

I'll bet on leaving the fob in the car. I've done that more than once. :-( Also when we have driven together, my wife has left her fob in her purse, and then put it in the trunk.

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Read on these forums that the floor of the trunk is a dead spot for the fob, have you tested this?

GreenT said:

Also, the story states the owner(s) left the fob in the car.

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Ah, I didnt watch the video story. They did say the key FOB went missing, so they probably left it in there.

AnOutsider said:

Where? I didn't see mention of it

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Watch the video and it says the owners came out and found key FOB missing.

"I was watching it on my mobile app, it was going at 100 miles per hour," owner Karim Pirani told 10News. "So we were able to see how fast it was going.

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That must have been nerve racking to watch on your phone.

GreenT said:

Also, the story states the owner(s) left the fob in the car.

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I do not see that statement in the story. I've read it three times. Please quote the text in the story that says the fob was left in the car. Thanks.

---UPDATE---

Sorry, I watched the video of the story and the narration says "when they were coming out to their car they discovered the key fob was missing and when they got to where they parked the car they discovered it was missing". That is the narrator saying that, not the owners.

So they apparently left the fob in the car, or possibly it was stolen from them without their knowledge, but that seems unlikely.

The whole incident seems unlikely: they left the fob in the car and then two guys walk by and try the door handles (they would be retracted so they would have to know to touch the handles to get in) and the handles extend and they say "Wow let's go for a ride"?

ecarfan said:

I do not see that statement in the story. I've read it three times. Please quote the text in the story that says the fob was left in the car. Thanks.

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It's in the video (says "owners found key fob missing"), not the text.