Stolen Model S please help!

[BluestarE3]

Now if it was stolen and the police recovered the vehicle, they very well could impound the evidence for trial, and "chain of custody" would be important to maintain. (written, dated and signed documentation)

According to the OP, his dad was able to track down and recover the car, not the police. Also, he's saying Tesla (rather than the police) subsequently seized the car (presumably from his dad's residence?) and took possession of it without obtaining permission from the rightful owner (his dad). Either a lot of information got miscommunicated from father to son or else something isn't kosher here.

Last week my father's Model S was stolen from outside our house. Luckily he was able to track the scumbags who stole it and get it back. However having got it back Tesla have siezed the car and have not many any contact of when he can have it back or any courtesy car. Has anyone been through something similar and can offer some advice!

 

[CalBlue 85D]

Do the police in the UK normally give out courtesy cars? They don't in the US.

They do provide courtesy rides in the back of their squad cars though.

 

[Ugliest1]

I'm guessing that the OP is fairly young and doesn't fully understand what is going on

He's certainly getting an education now!

 

[stopcrazypp]

According to the OP, his dad was able to track down and recover the car, not the police. Also, he's saying Tesla (rather than the police) subsequently seized the car (presumably from his dad's residence?) and took possession of it without obtaining permission from the rightful owner (his dad). Either a lot of information got miscommunicated from father to son or else something isn't kosher here.

He also said this, which suggests the police are involved:

2 engineers where sent from America to try and work it out

The police are working alongside Tesla

Maybe it is the way the OP talks (or he has no direct involvement), but the situation is as clear as mud from the way he explained it.

 

[thegruf]

I'm guessing that the OP is fairly young and doesn't fully understand what is going on.

Be kind. It's nice when our kids want to help us.

correct.

I know we're used to Tesla naysayers causing trouble here, but this is not the case in this instance.

Play nicely people, if the OP does come back there is actually something of interest regarding a Tesla security compromise here.

 

[malcolm]

Male strippers dressed as policemen. Huge crime wave. It was on Fox.

TBH it's more likely to be for forensics.

Genuine forensics - not a Horatio Caine strippergram thing.

 

[SageBrush]

Tesla have said it's to study the car to work out how it was stolen

Then did Tesla "seize" the car or did your father give them permission ?

 

[Brunel]

Oliver, might I suggest you or your dad join "Tesla Owners Group UK" on Facebook (Group not Club as the other one is open) - it is a closed and private group for registered owners and Tesla staff including head of Western Europe can see posts.

We have some security expert owners who are about to run some tests on any vulnerabilities and extra security options, so your experience would be appreciated and any concerns may get escalated easier. I have not seen or heard of any UK thefts of Model S, so your co-operation would be appreciated.

 

[J1mbo]

correct.

I know we're used to Tesla naysayers causing trouble here, but this is not the case in this instance.

Play nicely people, if the OP does come back there is actually something of interest regarding a Tesla security compromise here.

Personally I don't think that the OP is going to be able to contribute much more to this thread and it should probably be locked.

 

[cgiGuy]

This comment hasn't earned an answer. But I will play along.
No, I don't live in England. And don't need to just to understand how some police procedures are conducted.
You?

So, you think the police in London do things difference when it comes to stolen cars than all other places?
Having been a cop, I know what basic processes and procedures are in a town in the U.S.

Why would the police have a vested interest in figuring out how a specific manufactured car was stolen?
You have knowledge that the police do it different in England? Do they do it for all, or just Teslas?

I don't have knowledge about how they do things in the UK. And neither do you. The difference is, I'm not telling everyone in a matter-of-fact way what the police in the UK do. You are.

Now if it was stolen and the police recovered the vehicle, they very well could impound the evidence for trial, and "chain of custody" would be important to maintain. (written, dated and signed documentation)

Look a possible different action taken by police. Amazing to think that two different organizations might not behave exactly the same.

 

[Dazboj]

I'm very surprised with how many people are quick to jump on a new poster here. Not really acting like grown ups are you?

If you don't believe OP then shrug it off and move on. Personally, i'd like to know more about this story as i'm in the UK and would love to know if there's a possible thief syndicate running.

If the original poster is reading, ignore the nay-sayers, please update us with more information if you have it.

Thanks

 

[Drone Flyer]

According to Tesla because it happens so rarely they wanted to work out how it was stolen. They sent 2 engineers over from America

So Tesla sent two engineers from Canada or Costa Rica, Venezuela, U.S. then?
The term "America" constitutes all of the Americas, just so you know, north, south and central.
I believe you meant, "United States" LOL!
Also, how could it be stolen without the key fob? True, it can be driven without it but once stopped or exited, it shuts down. Hence the reason they were able to find it probably.

 

[Brunel]

So Tesla sent two engineers from Canada or Costa Rica, Venezuela, U.S. then?
The term "America" constitutes all of the Americas, just so you know, north, south and central.
I believe you meant, "United States" LOL!
Also, how could it be stolen without the key fob? True, it can be driven without it but once stopped or exited, it shuts down. Hence the reason they were able to find it probably.

Er, maybe in Canada that is what America means, but in the UK we often shorten US of A to America in the singular. We will of course refer to the Americas or N America, C America, S. America as appropriate.

There have been a number of stolen Model S in Europe: proper professionals who have drilled out locks of garages and taken the car without stealing the key. There are many ways of doing this and German marques are usually the subjects, but simply because there is a market...they found a partially dismantled Tesla in a back of lorry...there is seemingly a growing market for our cars!

 

[Ross_K]

I'm based in the UK. And other posters are quite correct, Tesla have no power to "seize" a vehicle, it would be classed as theft to do so. The only way this could have happened would be for the Police to seize the car as evidence - e.g. if they were investigating a sophisticated criminal group conducting high-end car theft, and they may well partner with car manufacturers to conduct forensic examinations of vehicles (i.e. handover the car to Tesla). In such cases, Tesla's customer services may give the impression of being poor, because they almost certainly can't discuss anything due to it being an on-going criminal investigation. In this scenario, the only avenue of communication with Tesla would likely be via the Police. Therefore, I think this is just a simple matter of confusion. Also, if the vehicle is seized by Police, then Tesla almost certainly will not provide a loaner vehicle - this is what insurance is for.

 

[SMAlset]

There have been Teslas stolen in Europe. Remembered reading about them and found this story in Electrek on it (Europe mentioned at the bottom of the article but remember reading a longer article at one time): Tesla owner tracked his stolen car with app and led police to the thief
Maybe this was the other story I remember: Two Tesla Model S cars were recently stolen in Europe and it’s puzzling the owners

 

[SMAlset]

OP any update? Saw this story today: Tesla is working on a new software update to help prevent theft after spike in stolen Teslas in Europe

 

[schonelucht]

Also, how could it be stolen without the key fob? True, it can be driven without it but once stopped or exited, it shuts down. Hence the reason they were able to find it probably.

Look into RF relay attacks. Black Hat USA 2017 | Arsenal Schedule There are now at least 23(!) confirmed thefts in the Netherlands in the last 3 months for Tesla Model S and X. Here is the relevant thread (in Dutch, use google translate) Opgelet, Model S gestolen Here is the Dutch stolen goods registry (it is not complete) Zoekresultaten voor ‘tesla’ Dutch police suspects the information on how to execute this attack is out there and a gang is actively targeting Teslas in the Netherlands. German police recovered one of the cars in a container : Nederlandse Model S gevonden in container

Dutch insurers were preparing to make the installation of 3rd party GPS trackers mandatory but Tesla worked with them and promised a better solution developed by Tesla. Unfortunately no further details on what this solution will be were released and so far we are still waiting for it. Current advice for Dutch owners is to keep their key fob in an RF blocking protection pocket. This should mitigate the attack but also blocks legitimate keyless entry.