It happened- someone tried to steal my car

[Physicslawyer]

Use your sentry mode. I have had the car going on five months and have never used sentry mode until last night.

Someone approached the car and tried to open all of the doors. It was someone who lives diagonal from us, two houses down. I have footage of him leaving his house and walking to the car.

I went to the police and gave them pictures that I took of the video showing him trying to open the doors and of a clear view of his face and body.

The technology on this car is at another level.

I'm sure this person knows I drive the car, and I'm concerned about retribution. Apparently, the cops have been to the house before.

This is at our vacation house. We bought a house in town from the early 1900's. The house is beautiful and it's near the downtown and running trails. Our other option was the gated community with the country club that didn't have the same small town vibe.

The area is changing a bit towards rentals and multi family homes and it's changing the vibe of the area. There have been some break ins, even during broad daylight. I'm getting nervous. If you came here, you would think it's a nice, safe, small town. I'm definitely shaken from this. My instruments are in the house, we have other cars and motorcycles in the garage. I'm concerned we will get robbed.

Anyway, if Tesla didn't have this incredible technology, I would not have had such clear evidence.

 

[howardnj]

Why not go over to his house and introduce yourself. Ask him if he is interested in purchasing a Tesla because you and your vehicle observed him near your vehicle. Ask if he has any questions on purchasing an EV?
That might be enough to discourage him from going near your Tesla any more?
Who knows maybe he was just ogling your vehicle?

 

[jimmymendoza]

Sorry to hear about this and YES, have sentry mode on at all times. I'm assuming you already have an alarm system for the house, if not thats a start.

 

[nate704]

I doubt that he tried to steal your car. He simply wanted to grab anything valuable inside your car since a lot of people simply do not lock their cars for some odd reason.

 

[Physicslawyer]

Why not go over to his house and introduce yourself. Ask him if he is interested in purchasing a Tesla because you and your vehicle observed him near your vehicle. Ask if he has any questions on purchasing an EV?
That might be enough to discourage him from going near your Tesla any more?
Who knows maybe he was just ogling your vehicle?

I'm a 5'5"/120 lb female. I'm not at all imposing. This is a rough looking guy. I can't see that ending well.

 

[Physicslawyer]

I doubt that he tried to steal your car. He simply wanted to grab anything valuable inside your car since a lot of people simply do not lock their cars for some odd reason.

That's possible.

We have had an increase in crime around here over the past few years, including cars getting stolen and houses getting broken into. This is a small tourist town.

I have a Ring doorbell, but not much else. It's about time for an actual security system. The Ring doorbell picked up none of this.

 

[FatherTo1]

Even if he was only after something valuable inside the car, that's sad that your own neighbor(s) would rob from you.

We definitely keep Sentry Mode on and it has recorded people denting our car door when their kid kicks open the door to exit their car. There are also videos online of Sentry Mode catching strangers keying Teslas. It is hard to trust anyone nowadays, lack of respect and integrity/accountability.

Sorry the neighbor's scummy behavior has unnerved you and affected your ability to feel safe and enjoy your vacation home. He must not be too bright not to notice the Sentry Mode in operation onscreen, or possibly the flashing lights when Sentry detects something. I wish Sentry Model would NOT flash the lights when spot checking Live View. Flashing the headlights kind of draws attention to the car when you don't want it to.

As for the fear of being robbed, you can't really control what other people do. Insurance will cover property loss. As for your own peace of mind, do what you need to feel safe, whether that's an alarm, more cameras, a dog, self-defense class, pepper spray, shooting range practice, etc. I was never comfortable with guns in the house but the world is a different place now so my perspective has changed.

 

[alexcue]

I'm a 5'5"/120 lb female. I'm not at all imposing. This is a rough looking guy. I can't see that ending well.

Sorry, you had to go through this. This kind of thing, checking the doors is happening more and more. But if you have a business card or some thing that you might want to leave with him that says "lawyer" like your Avatar Tag here, I'd personally look for someone else to "bother". just saying ...

 

[TXDawg]

Enable PIN to drive to be safe

 

[Physicslawyer]

The cop went to the house he came out of and they are swearing they don't know him and have never seen him before. Fascinating.

 

[byeLT4]

Maybe he got a buddy to answer the door and talk to the police?

 

[Corndart]

Sorry to hear about this incident, at least they didn't gain entry or in frustration, vandalize your car.

At risk of sounding pedantic, it sounds more like a car prowl, trying the doors then rifling through the vehicle for valuables would be the MO.

 

[NovaTech]

The cop went to the house he came out of and they are swearing they don't know him and have never seen him before. Fascinating.

Just having the police introduce themselves might be enough to persuade this person to reconsider any future actions. Do you have space to put your car in the garage if you rearrange some things?

 

[howardnj]

That's possible.

We have had an increase in crime around here over the past few years, including cars getting stolen and houses getting broken into. This is a small tourist town.

I have a Ring doorbell, but not much else. It's about time for an actual security system. The Ring doorbell picked up none of this.

The house next door to me had a recent break in. I also only had a ring doorbell but shortly after that break in I installed ring floodlight cameras over my driveway, rear backyard, and both sides of my home. Thus far I am amazed at the Red Fox, the Raccoons spiders, and an iguana that roam around my house in the middle of the night. The ring floodlight cameras are very easy to install and one can give the local police access to any footage that was recorded if necessary. When motion is activated the camera announces "Hi you are being recorded". The raccoon stopped in her tracks one night startled, and looked up at my camera.

 

[thesmokingman]

I doubt that he tried to steal your car. He simply wanted to grab anything valuable inside your car since a lot of people simply do not lock their cars for some odd reason.

Probably right as crime has just gotten out of hand in recent years. Every other day there's a new thread on nextdoor about randos checking door handles, delivery thieves, and the dreaded randos trying to enter your home in broad daylight. And it seems to be everywhere in socal now not just one place. /smh

 

[Physicslawyer]

Just having the police introduce themselves might be enough to persuade this person to reconsider any future actions. Do you have space to put your car in the garage if you rearrange some things?

The garage has my corvette and motorcycles. The space is a good 2k sq ft, but I would need to renovate it to fit more cars. It was used as a furniture shop, so there's a paint room etc. The actual garage space itself is limited. There is a parking space next to it and I have a Juicebox charger there and park the Prius Prime.

 

[Physicslawyer]

Maybe he got a buddy to answer the door and talk to the police?

The cop thought it was his mom. He looked to be around 20. The cops have visited this house previously.

The cop later told me that the guy could have walked through the space between the houses. From the video, it appeared that he came out of the house.

We bought the house fifteen years ago. Since then, up the block, the homes have been converted into rentals. I see lots of turnover. The house on the corner diagonal from us has six cars associated with it (two family home).

I do like the town, but now I'm wondering if I go out running if I need to worry about this guy since he knows I turned him in. There is a nearby park that ends in a more isolated trail. I'm going to avoid that part. There is also a ten mile rail trail that is pretty isolated. I don't think I feel comfortable there anymore.

I originally bought here to have a house in a quiet town where I would feel safe. Our crime rates are theoretically low.

"crime rate is one of the lower rates in America among communities of all sizes (lower than 87% of America's communities). One's chance of becoming a victim of crime is one in 247."

Apparently, we are listed as one of the safest places to live in the country.

 

[thesmokingman]

The cop thought it was his mom. He looked to be around 20. The cops have visited this house previously.

The cop later told me that the guy could have walked through the space between the houses. From the video, it appeared that he came out of the house.

They are warned now. It's surprising sometimes to realize how many idiots still do not know about Teslas.

 

[KJD]

The cop went to the house he came out of and they are swearing they don't know him and have never seen him before. Fascinating.

Is that house a short term rental like AirB&B or VRBO ?

 

[Physicslawyer]

I don't exactly feel safe where we are in NY either. My house there is entirely surrounded by hedges and you can't even see the house from the street. I have had random people walk up to my door. This is in a "nice" area in NY, Northshore LI where homes are more spread out, no sidewalks. You get privacy, but there is isolation that goes along with that.

There must be somewhere you can live and feel safe in your home.