How Secure Are Teslas/Tesla Thefts

[Lord Farquad]

Met police released some info following a FOI request. Unfortunately it doesn’t go down to specific models, and the reduction in 2020 and 2021 might be Covid related, but gives you an idea of overall numbers.

Somebody who knows some of the terminology might be able to say if this is just the Met police region or national figures.

https://www.met.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/foi-media/metropolitan-police/disclosure_2022/february_2022/stolen-rtc-make-tesla-vehicle-listed-involved-2017-2021.xlsx

No consolation if you’re one of them

Those are figures just for the Met (London ). It’s worth mentioning that “stolen” will include finance type disputes where the company is struggling to get it back so reports it stolen. Plus they’ll be a few “domestic thefts” where someone’s partner has taken the car without consent.

To give the numbers context, in a busy major City in the North of the country 113 Ford’s were stolen in the last month alone.

 

[Tony Hoyle]

Only think I've ever found for the country is this Top 10 most stolen cars in the UK 2021 - see the list

Tesla doesn't even make the top 10 in the EV list... and the one at no. 10 is only 32 cars in a year. So based on that I'm not too worried.

 

[Adopado]

Literally 3 posts above you /\

Did you read the post you referred to?

 

[Pink Duck]

Tuesday morning at 03:47 my Tesla Model S was stolen from my driveway.

What version of software was your car on at the time? (if you recall) - are the key-fobs 2nd gen with latest update?

 

[Bouba]

I read this thread with great interest, as on Tuesday morning at 3:47am my Tesla Model S was stolen from my driveway. Here's the puzzle - passive entry was switched off, I still have both key fobs and my phone safely with me (nowhere near the car at the time), and it had pin-to-drive enabled. So, did they tow it away? No - I have CCTV footage from neighbours which shows two thieves driving the car away. They were also on CCTV scoping the area out on the previous day. The side window was smashed (glass on the floor), we think the alarm sounded as another neighbour heard a wailing sound that woke her up at about the right time, but it must have been quickly silenced. When I called Tesla the morning after they told me there was a failed authentication alert at 3:10am, which tallies with CCTV which shows the lights flashing at that time, as if the alarm were triggered. The thieves worked inside the car for almost 40 minutes - doing what I don't know - but they eventually drive it away. When I discovered the theft at 8am the following day I immediately checked the app to track it - no response. And no response in the 4 days since then. I am stunned that they go away with it - they needed everything to go right for them to do it and I needed just one thing to go wrong for them to still have my car. I have been mulling over how they might have done it in the days since ... and it may not all be electronic wizardry, could there be some real-world physical things they did on the previous visit??

Terrible news....what will they do with it? Part it out? Because how can they supercharge it?

 

[NewbieT]

Maybe not on a supercharger but there isn’t any reason it shouldn’t charge 3rd party ultra-rapid. Other cars get by on Ionity and Gridserve, no reason a stolen S couldn’t. My money would be on parts or export to Africa though.

 

[Rooster6655]

I read this thread with great interest, as on Tuesday morning at 3:47am my Tesla Model S was stolen from my driveway. Here's the puzzle - passive entry was switched off, I still have both key fobs and my phone safely with me (nowhere near the car at the time), and it had pin-to-drive enabled. So, did they tow it away? No - I have CCTV footage from neighbours which shows two thieves driving the car away. They were also on CCTV scoping the area out on the previous day. The side window was smashed (glass on the floor), we think the alarm sounded as another neighbour heard a wailing sound that woke her up at about the right time, but it must have been quickly silenced. When I called Tesla the morning after they told me there was a failed authentication alert at 3:10am, which tallies with CCTV which shows the lights flashing at that time, as if the alarm were triggered. The thieves worked inside the car for almost 40 minutes - doing what I don't know - but they eventually drive it away. When I discovered the theft at 8am the following day I immediately checked the app to track it - no response. And no response in the 4 days since then. I am stunned that they go away with it - they needed everything to go right for them to do it and I needed just one thing to go wrong for them to still have my car. I have been mulling over how they might have done it in the days since ... and it may not all be electronic wizardry, could there be some real-world physical things they did on the previous visit??

They more than likely would have removed the SIM card to stop the tracking, it sounds like they obviously know what they are doing and replaced the necessary parts to circumvent any security measures, be interesting to know the year of the car.

I suspect that Tesla won't be forthcoming with any inside information on how it could have been done and would want to keep it under wraps, as another poster said if they have enough time then they will be able to get the car. I suspect that the previous visit was to make sure it was a vulnerable car perhaps by the year/model of the car.

Terrible news....what will they do with it? Part it out? Because how can they supercharge it?

Nobody has to use a supercharger, I have one once in the past year, plenty of other options.

 

[Lord Farquad]

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.

Use a visible, physical security, like drive bollards and steering locks.

You want your car to be unattractive to them.

And never, ever, buy a Fiesta

 

[NewbieT]

The police crime stats = you’re basically telling the police because your insurers say you have to. Chance of a conviction for car theft is virtually nill.

 

[Lord Farquad]

The police crime stats = you’re basically telling the police because your insurers say you have to. Chance of a conviction for car theft is virtually nill.

I know where you’re coming from, the resources they deploy when you report a theft could well appear to be tea pot shaped and made of chocolate…..

But a surprising number of cars are recovered by the keen, hard working cops out there (despite the efforts of the system to keep them busy elsewhere).

The Criminal Justice System has such weak punishments for burglars and car thieves, it’s little wonder it’s so bad.

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

I have had several friends who had cars stolen, with minor variations they all followed the same pattern.
1. Except for 1 were all stolen from a private parking place. The 1 was idling outside while the owner ran into a store to pick up something already paid for and waiting for them. (Less than 1 minute in the store, came out to see the car driving away.)
2. All vehicles taken to a secluded location and stripped of EVERYTHING that could be removed.
3. All vehicles were up on blocks, apparently to make removal of rims and tires easier.
4. All thefts immediately reported to police / insurance companies.
5. All owners advised by police and insurance companies to keep checking tow lots, in particular city impound lot.
6. All communication with police, insurance, tow lots/companies, city impound totally denied any knowledge of any events.
7. With various devious means, (some likely illegal), all but 1, owners discovered the remains of their vehicles in the city impound lot. The one vehicle was found in California 1,500 miles away, 3 months after theft. The insurance company negotiated (threatened the owner), that they would force him to accept the stolen vehicle, but eventually gave up and let him keep the replacement that they had provided.
8. After reporting to insurance company that vehicle was in city impound lot and up to weeks of denials and threats of legal action, before admission that, yes the lot had the missing vehicle.
9. Evidence indicated that ALL vehicles taken to the impound lot were initially pulled off the blocks with a chain on the bumper.
10. After coming off the block and being drug a short distance, the bumper was pulled off the vehicle and placed on the rear seat. All but 1 vehicle was then towed on its wheels, by a chain around the rear axle, until it reached the impound lot. On one vehicle the rear axles and differential were pulled off the vehicle and placed in the trunk.
11. In every case the impound lot denied possession of the vehicle until pressure of threats of legal action by the owner and insurance company forced them to admit they had the vehicle and release it.
12. All vehicles were declared total damage by insurance company, although in no case was there any damage apparent by the thieves. Quite the contrary, all parts removed were done carefully to avoid damage to the vehicle and the actual damage to the vehicles was solely done by the tow services.

Its a bit different in the UK (and you may not have realised you've stumbled into the UK subforum) but I agree any stolen will be for parts rather than being put back on the road.

Written off cars do often end up in yards where they are stripped for parts, a legitimate business. but there's always been a curious abundance of Tesla parts in Lithuania, a country that Tesla don't (or didn't) sell into including RHD parts which means we're expected to believe cars are bought at salvage auctions here, as the nearest RHD country. and shipped a thousand+ miles across Europe only for the parts to be stripped and shipped back to the UK when sold. Or maybe the cars are stolen, taken where enforcement is highly unlkely and stripped and sold back as parts from an anonymous donor.

A quick search on ebay shows the problem - something like 7 RHD Model 3 interiors for sale in Lithuania but not one for sale by a UK seller. If you don't think thats strange, then I don't know what is.

 

[legendsk]

Its a bit different in the UK (and you may not have realised you've stumbled into the UK subforum) but I agree any stolen will be for parts rather than being put back on the road.

Written off cars do often end up in yards where they are stripped for parts, a legitimate business. but there's always been a curious abundance of Tesla parts in Lithuania, a country that Tesla don't (or didn't) sell into including RHD parts which means we're expected to believe cars are bought at salvage auctions here, as the nearest RHD country. and shipped a thousand+ miles across Europe only for the parts to be stripped and shipped back to the UK when sold. Or maybe the cars are stolen, taken where enforcement is highly unlkely and stripped and sold back as parts from an anonymous donor.

A quick search on ebay shows the problem - something like 7 RHD Model 3 interiors for sale in Lithuania but not one for sale by a UK seller. If you don't think thats strange, then I don't know what is.

You are absolutely correct, I had wandered into UK territory. Thanks for alerting me. Considering the legal and cultural differences, I really think the post should not be here and will attempt to delete it.

 

[phil4]

I swear last week I drove my car without needing to enter the pin. P2D is enabled, and I've not been able to recreate. Now I might have been mistaken but I swear (enough to check it again as soon as I got to work) that in that instance I didn't need to enter the PIN to get into D. When I tried again at work, it did require the pin. So it could have been my memory, or it could have been slightly different timing.

 

[KennethS]

I swear last week I drove my car without needing to enter the pin. P2D is enabled, and I've not been able to recreate. Now I might have been mistaken but I swear (enough to check it again as soon as I got to work) that in that instance I didn't need to enter the PIN to get into D. When I tried again at work, it did require the pin. So it could have been my memory, or it could have been slightly different timing.

Did you use summon prior to getting in the car? When I use it to reverse our cars from the garage I find that P2D is not needed when I get in to drive off after. Or that has been my theory of why.

 

[Rooster6655]

I swear last week I drove my car without needing to enter the pin. P2D is enabled, and I've not been able to recreate. Now I might have been mistaken but I swear (enough to check it again as soon as I got to work) that in that instance I didn't need to enter the PIN to get into D. When I tried again at work, it did require the pin. So it could have been my memory, or it could have been slightly different timing.

Yes there is definitely some situations that I have had this happen too

 

[Irata]

Seems there was another example of pin to drive being defeated in the uk..

https://twitter.com/x/status/1534503424468951042

Regardless, I am disappointed Tesla don't yet add an ever increasing delay after every failed attempt. Security is always an ongoing battle.

 

[phil4]

Did you use summon prior to getting in the car? When I use it to reverse our cars from the garage I find that P2D is not needed when I get in to drive off after. Or that has been my theory of why.

No, I don't have EAP or FSD.

All the above being said, although I don't think it asked for the PIN, it did require a key (phone) nearby to open, and this is defo not something that happens most of the time... so while not great if it happened, it's hardly a car sitting waiting to be taken.

 

[up_north]

I swear last week I drove my car without needing to enter the pin. P2D is enabled, and I've not been able to recreate. Now I might have been mistaken but I swear (enough to check it again as soon as I got to work) that in that instance I didn't need to enter the PIN to get into D. When I tried again at work, it did require the pin. So it could have been my memory, or it could have been slightly different timing.

I think this happened to me once in my 3. I drove away and they thought “I’m sure I didn’t enter my PIN code” but couldn’t swear for definite - could just be old age!

 

[yessuz]

Its a bit different in the UK (and you may not have realised you've stumbled into the UK subforum) but I agree any stolen will be for parts rather than being put back on the road.

Written off cars do often end up in yards where they are stripped for parts, a legitimate business. but there's always been a curious abundance of Tesla parts in Lithuania, a country that Tesla don't (or didn't) sell into including RHD parts which means we're expected to believe cars are bought at salvage auctions here, as the nearest RHD country. and shipped a thousand+ miles across Europe only for the parts to be stripped and shipped back to the UK when sold. Or maybe the cars are stolen, taken where enforcement is highly unlkely and stripped and sold back as parts from an anonymous donor.

A quick search on ebay shows the problem - something like 7 RHD Model 3 interiors for sale in Lithuania but not one for sale by a UK seller. If you don't think thats strange, then I don't know what is.

regarding Lithuania (as I am Lithuanian myself):

There's loads of legitimate business where guys are buying Salvage titled cars from USA/UK/Europe, strip for parts and resale those. 2nd hand market in Lithuania and whole rest of Eastern Europe is huge and in many cases, including teslas, people prefer to buy 2-3 year old car rather than new one due to depreciation (and well, no tesla SC in Lithuania). Many cars, as mentioned, imported from USA with idea to restore them and to sell on the market (I did something similar in 2008 when I bought Saab 9-3 from US, I restored it and used as my daily driver for 3 years) and in case it cannot be restored, it will go for parts...

There's definitely a chance of some dodgy businesses as well, of course (I my self know couple of chaps whose income level and business they have in UK looks like dodgy af, but I have no proof...)

 

[1k-dummy]

I own a 2022 Model Y - I believe there's no "turning off passive entry" or have I missed it?