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A Vancouver car thief chose the worst possible target — a trackable Tesla — in what appears to be one of the first cases of that make being reported stolen in Canada.
The Tesla, owned by Katya Pinkowski, was left in parking garage while she and a friend attended a concert. They returned to find it missing. At first, she called the towing company but they had no record of it. So she called her husband, who quickly fired up the Tesla Model S app.
What happens next is pretty funny — they could literally follow their stolen Tesla as it was taken through a joy ride of the Vancouver area.
The couple also called 911, and everyone was able to follow the entire trip while emergency operators worked with local police to find the car.
“It was so much fun, actually,” Pinkowski told the Province. “I could tell the 911 operator was excited … they’d never had this before, where they could actually track the car.”
The Province adds that the thief was able to steal the Tesla by using an “extra electronic key fob” the couple had bought and left inside the car. The couple recovered their car with minimal damage.
It’s a funny story, but one that foretells a future where car theft might just be a thing of the past.
“It’s a huge testimonial for Tesla,” Pinkowski told the Province. “I think it’s the way of the future, that within five years all cars will be tracked, so the days of stealing cars are going to come to an end.”
Agencies/Canadajournal
The Tesla Model S is probably the world’s most technologically-advanced car. Except for the idiot owner that leaves a key fob in the car.
Who leaves a key bob inside the car?
My much lower tech car won’t let me do that. It will not allow the doors to lock if it senses the key fob is in the car.
Someone let the Tesla builders know, because Tesla owners don’t know better….. than to leave a key fob in the car.
The handles only pop out when the fob approaches the car. They will retract after a period of inactivity. If you leave the fob inside, they will retract but the vehicle is not locked. To make them pop back out, you have to press on them. So in a way the thief knew what he had to do. The other thing is, she was all excited that she could track the car using her phone app. If the thief was any smarter, he could have disabled this in the settings of the main screen.