Model S Stolen

[MatthewC]

My 2017 Model S was stolen from my drive 2 days ago. The thieves have turned off my ability to contact the car via the App. If it is plugged in to a Supercharger at any point does anyone know whether that info would be sent to the app directly ? Also I assume Tesla would be able to prevent a stolen car from charging, and not unlatch the cable.
I'm asking in the forum as I can't find anyway to contact Tesla directly. Thanks.

 

[Billbrown1982]

Well, yes, there is override which was used after reboot of MCU etc.

at 5:00 - they cut power supply.
at 5:15 - reboot of whole MCU / main control unit
at 5:20 - MCU boots up in safe mode and then you can drive without key

Surely that is a vulnerability that could and should have been patched out by Tesla by now?

 

[yessuz]

Surely that is a vulnerability that could and should have been patched out by Tesla by now?

do not know.

 

[Pink Duck]

The patch is upgrading to MCU2 (then placing a sticker advertising such in the driver window)

 

[MatthewC]

Sorry this is happening to you, truly sucks! Try contacting your local Tesla center and see if they can be of help.

Out of curiosity, how were they able to drive off in your vehicle? Even if you didn't have Pin-to-drive on, how were they able drive off (unless they had your key card of course)?

It would help to alert others if you could say which town or area of the country this happened in.

Hi I'm in central London. My neighbour had his X5 stolen a few months back. Just watched the Russian video and it's astonishing how quickly they can take a car. It was also parked in my drive so out of view from the road, and the Tesla app lost contact with it ca. 4:00 a.m.

 

[MatthewC]

One idea to protect all EVs from being stolen, would be for chargers to ping the stolen car database when a car connects to charge. If it comes up stolen then it can be immobilised.

 

[Pink Duck]

It’s an idea, but in practice the stolen S vehicles if done professionally only move a short distance into a metal trailer to be trucked out to somewhere like Lithuania via ports/dockyards going unchecked amid the random inspections for resold genuine parts. The special Unicorn 2017 with lifetime free supercharging in this instance might just have been stolen to order instead and potentially retrievable. My own might be relatively safe given its 2018 plate hinting at strong likelihood presence of MCU2.

 

[brainhouston]

aaaand - Post #18 in the same Thread:
How Secure Are Teslas/Tesla Thefts

video there in russian but is shows, from 1:20, how easy it is, if you know what to do.

i call bs on that video..
he only put foil on one mirror n disconnected 1 horn... what else is the video lying about...
also MCU itself has LTE antenna, how u gonna stop that signal?... guess u can carry portable jammer lol

 

[Pink Duck]

The video wasn’t fully instructional, but in reality probably brought along a GPS/cellular signal jammer. The radio aerials are only built into a single wing-mirror structure before MCU2.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Maybe an AirTag hidden somewhere in the car might help ... somewhere the thieves won't be expecting / checking - maybe that is unrealistic ?

maybe that could also alert if car moves and phone isn't moving with it ?

 

[WannabeOwner]

I found some data on numbers stolen etc. Only Met Police, so dunno how useful that is in isolation

https://www.met.police.uk/foi-ai/metropolitan-police/d/february-2022/stolen-road-traffic-collisions-make-tesla-vehicle-listed-involved-2017-2021/

 

[init6]

The page linked to in this post has some suggestions for securing Teslas - including AirTags.

How Secure Are Teslas/Tesla Thefts

The best method to reduce the chance of theft is using “layered security”. Be mindful where you park, ensure it’s well lit and covered by cctv (even at home). Protect your keys (faraday pouches) and hide your PIN. Look out for people following you and conducting hostile recces on your car...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[gangzoom]

My own might be relatively safe given its 2018 plate hinting at strong likelihood presence of MCU2.

If someone really wants your car they will get it. Personally I much rather deal with an insurance company versus a knife/fist etc in my face/stomach etc.

Looking at the sentences this lot below got last year, looks like most them will be/already out by the end of this year.

Violent teenage carjacking gang wreaked havoc as they stole almost 100 cars

Seven teenagers, four aged just 16, wreaked havoc across the West Midlands stealing cars in violent carjackings and disturbing burglaries

www.birminghammail.co.uk

 

[Bouba]

I often think that if my car has been in the hands of some toe rag, I wouldn’t want it back..it will never feel the same again, especially if you care and baby your car....I’d rather have the insurance payout

 

[Skie]

Theoretically Tesla can blacklist certain components so they would be rejected. Y other vehicles and rendered worthless. Anything with firmware could have a hardware id that the fleet could be told not to trust.

Apple do something similar with phone components to ensure the keychain can be secured on their devices, but they did the usual Apple thing and tried to use it to crack down on 3rd party repairers too.

 

[MOE J]

aaaand - Post #18 in the same Thread:
How Secure Are Teslas/Tesla Thefts

video there in russian but is shows, from 1:20, how easy it is, if you know what to do.

1-this video is fake, as I’m sure car alarm would have gone off or the sentry mode and PIN code was not on. It was not at all easy.

 

[GRiLLA]

1-this video is fake, as I’m sure car alarm would have gone off or the sentry mode and PIN code was not on. It was not at all easy.

It's not fake, but it is old, there did used to be an exploit that allowed physical access during the car computers boot process to override the pin on old style Model S and X, but it was fixed over the air some time ago now.

This is the 'secret sauce' that keep Tesla near the bottom of the most stolen lists, when threats are found they can be fixed.

Another example is that relay attacks against the newer bluetooth phone keys have been demonstrated by security researchers, so now at least on iOS (so far) the app uses motion detection to disable the ability to unlock the car when stationary.

Security vulnerabilities will be found, Tesla can then fix them. Far easier to just steal Range Rovers.

 

[MOE J]

Ya this new wide band phone key seems promising