Concern about thief stealing center console

[K-MTG]

On my old Caddy...the screen would go down.

 

[Garlan Garner]

Catalytic converters are stolen for metal recycling. Nobody would give you jack for a monitor with no useful connector that was torn out of its mount...

I believe you are missing the point. Most thieves aren't smart. They steal because its there .... and they THINK they can sell/use it.

At least that's the way it is ..... in select neighborhoods that I am FULLY aware of.

 

[apacheguy]

Would be interesting to see a tear down.

 

[ninefiveone]

The myth that thieves aren’t smart misses the point. Don’t kid yourself.

Thieves know brand, model, and year down to the individual parts what is and isn’t valuable on the secondary market.

If something on a Tesla can be stolen and sold easily for enough value, they will figure it out.

I highly doubt the screen will be one of those things.

 

[gregincal]

I believe you are missing the point. Most thieves aren't smart. They steal because its there .... and they THINK they can sell/use it.

At least that's the way it is ..... in select neighborhoods that I am FULLY aware of.

The car break ins I hear about are highly selective. Witness the recent rash of people breaking out rear quarter windows and stealing laptops out of trunks. I suppose you might have the random drug addict doing something stupid, but for the most part people who break into cars know exactly what they are looking for (the thing about the catalytic converters is an exact case in point, nobody looked at that part and said, "hey, that looks cool."

 

[roblab]

These neighborhoods sound scary. I think I would move.

 

[Jeff4155]

Not that I'm concerned about theft, but I'm thinking of possibly having the back of the screen wrapped in black or something darker. Looking through the windshield, the silver back of the screen tends to draw your attention more than I would like. Having it darker would make it blend more into the interior.

In that case you are going to have to wrap the whole car, because it will draw attention

 

[stopcrazypp]

Many cars have such design now, and I've never heard of it being a concern, FWIW
e.g. Our smaller B-class electric has something that looks a lot like an ipad from the outside, it even looks like it's resting in cradle shape and has brushed metallic thin outside bezels. Whoever designed that was certainly... uninspired, but on those forums theft has never come up.

The model 3's screen is prominently integrated into the dash.Anyone that looks inside and sees the unusual dash design is likely to go WTF and move on, IMO, unless they are very impaired.
View attachment 275250

[I now look at this dash/console/etc and can't help seeing the hundred or so buttons many of which I've never pressed.]

I remember this exact discussion when the Model 3 was unveiled. Yeah, so many cars have iPad-like screen nowadays it's not even a concern.

And given how many reservations there are for the Model 3, it's not like it will be a rare car either.

 

[stopcrazypp]

The car break ins I hear about are highly selective. Witness the recent rash of people breaking out rear quarter windows and stealing laptops out of trunks. I suppose you might have the random drug addict doing something stupid, but for the most part people who break into cars know exactly what they are looking for (the thing about the catalytic converters is an exact case in point, nobody looked at that part and said, "hey, that looks cool."

Yeah I agree. Even the "dumb" thieves can learn from experience what is valuable and what is not. And personally I have never seen an iPad/tablet mount in the wild (much less one with the iPad/tablet still mounted while unattended).

However, I have seen plenty of dashes with screens that stick up (example from Mazda 3 that looks like a GPS unit):

 

[NeverFollow]

These neighborhoods sound scary. I think I would move.

Spike in Car and Home Break-Ins Causing a Glass Shortage (in the San Francisco South Bay Area)

I think that the burglar are more interested by content left on the seats or in the trunk.

 

[TEG]

I wonder just how much of the cars "smarts" live in that screen? Part of me thinks that maybe it is an integral / critical part of the car.
Without the screen is there any way to move the car? Will it charge?

 

[Garlan Garner]

The car break ins I hear about are highly selective. Witness the recent rash of people breaking out rear quarter windows and stealing laptops out of trunks. I suppose you might have the random drug addict doing something stupid, but for the most part people who break into cars know exactly what they are looking for (the thing about the catalytic converters is an exact case in point, nobody looked at that part and said, "hey, that looks cool."

so case in point.

The intelligent thief says......Hey look at that large iPad someone left sitting in the middle of the car.......like they mount cell phones.

 

[Chewy3]

so case in point.

The intelligent thief says......Hey look at that large iPad someone left sitting in the middle of the car.......like they mount cell phones.

 

[Olle]

Just put one of those mega clubs on the thing.

But Model S is still drivable without the screen as those who have rebooted the screen while driving will know. If M3 is the same way I wouldn't worry too much about it.

In addition, the thief will be filmed by the M3 interior camera and the device probably has the gps in it. When the burglar alarm is triggered I hope Tesla's server starts tracking where its going. Would be awesome if you could buy alarm monitoring like for a house, so that the police gets called when the alarm is triggered.

 

[dhrivnak]

Its not really funny at all, however Catalytic converters are rigid also....and they have been disappearing for years on cars. I know for a fact that that's true.

Let me put it this way. I don't believe anyone in Elons neighborhood has ever had their catalytic converter sawed off of their car.

One day at work on a sunny day 8 cars had their catylitc converters cut off. Amazing broad daylight in a crowded parking lot.

 

[Olle]

One day at work on a sunny day 8 cars had their catylitc converters cut off. Amazing broad daylight in a crowded parking lot.

Not surprised. The cats went bad on my otherwise functioning Audi 4.2. They costed more than the whole car. Each was $1000 plus labor, and there were 4 of them... Another reason to drive electric

 

[roblab]

One day at work on a sunny day 8 cars had their catylitc converters cut off. Amazing broad daylight in a crowded parking lot.

So, what happens when they reach under the Tesla? Not too bright, for sure. These thieves need a refresher course on what's salable. And unless I'm on a trip, there's nothing in the car to steal.

 

[TEG]

Don't let them know how much the inconel in the ludicrous battery pack is worth...

 

[Elice]

Unlike Model S and X, the center touch screen panel is popped out in Model 3.

My concern is that if a thief breaks in, and break the center console, is the car still drivable and can the parts be replaced easily?

Or is it designed so strong that thief cannot break it apart?

Interesting question!I do belived that it is strong enough for owners.