Photo: Tesla
Tesla Model 3 is offering another option to the classic keycard to lock and unlock your car: your smartphone. During an attempted carjacking, one owner remembered this convenience feature and it effectively prevented it.
It turns out that this feature also works for security issues, not just for the convenience of not having to take out and actually use the keycard. According to the Barstow Police Department in California, a recent carjacking incident involved a Tesla Model 3 and an owner that kept his cool during the attempt, and reacted without putting himself in any immediate danger.
The owner was shocked when a stranger opened the door and stepped into his Model 3, yelling at him to get out. The owner complied, as any common-sense, average person would have probably done, leaving the stranger inside his car.
Once at a safe distance, the owner then used his smartphone to shut down the engine of the car and lock it from outside. This way, the wannabe carjacker became trapped inside the very vehicle he was trying to steal, with no way of getting out and no way of driving off. He stayed put until police arrived and took him away in cuffs.
The police note that the carjacker was “sweating profusely and was twitching and blinking his eyes rapidly,” and that he was acting erratically and aggressively. This wasn’t due to his surprise at ending up trapped in a car he planned to use as a getaway vehicle, but because he was under the influence of drugs. He was charged with that too, in addition for carjacking.
As you probably know, this isn’t the only recent example of a Tesla being used to fight or deter crime. Sentry Mode alone has helped catch many vandals and burglars, earning Tesla somewhat of a reputation of a modern-day crimefighter / superhero.
The owner was shocked when a stranger opened the door and stepped into his Model 3, yelling at him to get out. The owner complied, as any common-sense, average person would have probably done, leaving the stranger inside his car.
Once at a safe distance, the owner then used his smartphone to shut down the engine of the car and lock it from outside. This way, the wannabe carjacker became trapped inside the very vehicle he was trying to steal, with no way of getting out and no way of driving off. He stayed put until police arrived and took him away in cuffs.
The police note that the carjacker was “sweating profusely and was twitching and blinking his eyes rapidly,” and that he was acting erratically and aggressively. This wasn’t due to his surprise at ending up trapped in a car he planned to use as a getaway vehicle, but because he was under the influence of drugs. He was charged with that too, in addition for carjacking.
As you probably know, this isn’t the only recent example of a Tesla being used to fight or deter crime. Sentry Mode alone has helped catch many vandals and burglars, earning Tesla somewhat of a reputation of a modern-day crimefighter / superhero.
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