Model S gone in less than 60 seconds

[macgeng]

 

[nguyentoogood]

That's super scary, can happen to any car with keyless entry.
At least the tesla has pin to drive.

 

[Rockster]

I wish I could set PIN to drive to automatically engage during certain hours of the day. I don't really need it parked at work during the daylight but I'd like having the extra measure of security when the car is parked in my driveway at night.

 

[scottm]

Not only PIN to drive, but you can also turn OFF walk-up unlocking.

That alone would prevent this type of theft.

So there's two layers of defense you can add.

Turn them both on and that pretty much guarantees your car is going nowhere without you.

 

[Lhshockey24]

Isn’t it really dumb to steal this car? You can’t disable mobile app access without the account password so the owner would find this car by morning. What am I missing?

 

[SVMike]

Wouldn't a sophisticated thief know how to disable the GPS? Or know to drive into a facility with a Faraday cage that would make it block all signals. But I'm still unsure how they would sell it. Who would want it without it being connected to the Tesla network for updates, etc?
And is there a market for parts big enough to be worth it?

 

[PWlakewood]

Isn’t it really dumb to steal this car? You can’t disable mobile app access without the account password so the owner would find this car by morning. What am I missing?

By morning car is stripped and parts are listed on ebay or craigslist.

 

[Lhshockey24]

By morning car is stripped and parts are listed on ebay or craigslist.

You think so? I feel like it’s a bit more complicated to do that than with a 2001 Camry...

 

[PWlakewood]

You think so? I feel like it’s a bit more complicated to do that than with a 2001 Camry...

Ever been to a real chop shop? The real ones dont mess around. There are ways to disable the tracking devices.

 

[sorka]

Not only PIN to drive, but you can also turn OFF walk-up unlocking.

That alone would prevent this type of theft..

Why do you think that would have prevented them from opening the door if they've cloned the fob signal?

 

[Rockster]

Why do you think that would have prevented them from opening the door if they've cloned the fob signal?

Agreed. If they’ve cloned the fob signal the car can’t tell the difference. All this would do is force the thief to touch the door handle to make it extend.

 

[Magellan55]

Given how long it takes to get body panels, how many Tesla owners would happily look the other way if the body shop told them they could get their car fixed in days if they used "gray market" parts?

Also that battery pack has to be worth a bunch on the secondary market.

 

[Lhshockey24]

Ever been to a real chop shop? The real ones dont mess around. There are ways to disable the tracking devices.

I never have. You and I are living two very different lives!

 

[BANKWUPT]

Disabling passive entry would have protected the car. Not just "auto present door handles" but the entire passive entry, so you'd have to double click on the fob for the handles to present. A little hassle but worth it for peace of mind.

Also, I read some things saying this was a "brand new" 2019 Tesla but it doesn't look like it. It has cyclone wheels which were discontinued ~2 years ago and it also has black vents around the foglights which means this doesn't have premium upgrades, which Tesla made standard in July of 2018. Tesla also made improvements to the key fob cryptography in August of last year which is supposed to protect against relay attacks like this. I had a 2015 Model S and was able to upgrade my keys to the newer version *just in case* even though I've yet to see this type of attack in the US

EDIT: Even the YouTube video says it's a 2019. Definitely not.

 

[scottm]

Agreed. If they’ve cloned the fob signal the car can’t tell the difference. All this would do is force the thief to touch the door handle to make it extend.

Touch handle doesn't do anything if you have turned off walk-up unlocking.

 

[scottm]

Why do you think that would have prevented them from opening the door if they've cloned the fob signal?

They are not cloning they are relaying.

They can't inject a fob press into the radio stream.

 

[Gaz_]

The owner probably didn't have the car transferred to him yet so couldn't set pin to drive. Given how hard it is to get the car registered to my account I wonder what Tesla do with these stolen cars. I'm sure if they can remove unlock and lock that they can brick it and tell the police where it is?

Maybe they take 7 weeks to do that too (OK, Maybe I'm bitter about this registration process )

 

[luvnMyTS]

I had a Model 3 and hated it because of the Key Card / Phone key options (among other things). I went back to the S because of the features it has that make it easy to operate, like passive entry. I don't want to be slowed up by having to enter a pin every time I drive or unlock it every time. Part of why I paid extra for an S. I have insurance, so if someone wants to steal it that bad, then I guess that just means I get a new one. How many Tesla's have been stolen so far? Not many. Definitely near the bottom of the list. If someone wants it that bad, they're either going to succeed or damage the car trying. Don't spoil your experience over something that's unlikely to happen. If it does, then it does. I don't live life based on the less than 1% chance something might happen. If that were the case, I'd never leave the house.

 

[whitex]

Tesla also made improvements to the key fob cryptography in August of last year which is supposed to protect against relay attacks like this.

The improvements to the key fob do not protect against relay, only cloning.

 

[SDRick]

The improvements to the key fob do not protect against relay, only cloning.

What is the difference, this relay that you speak of?