Stolen Model S?

[RDoc]

No. If you have a U.S. car, just drive to Canada. The car drops off the map to everyone, including Tesla. I assume it's the same for going to China etc.

Is that really the case? That would be quite unfortunate if true.

For example, if a US car drives into Canada, does the Google mapping application stop working? For that matter, does the remote phone app stop working?

 

[dsm363]

GPS chips are only receivers, devices that use it require some other transmitter to get location information somewhere. So using the GPS chip, the car determines its location relative to the GPS satellites; through 3G or WiFi, it tells Tesla where it is. Cut off that transmission via 3G or WiFi and no one will know.

Thanks. Didn't know that.

Even though your plan doesn't support going into Canada, maybe they still track you down assuming there was a signal.

 

[Plug Me In]

My vote is for fraud. I would think a police officer would identify him/herself as such when calling rather than Regional Auto Theft. My guess is that term would be used on the phone to avoid any potential charges for impersonating a police officer.

 

[Musterion]

There was another thread on owners (even before delivery) getting solicitation calls related to their Tesla. Common thread was that they did financing and then outsiders pounced on the info filed in paperwork with various entities. If you did or inquired about financing, maybe that was the source.

 

[dsm363]

OP here with an update. As I said originally, the caller did identify themselves as "Detective ______" (I don't remember the name and I didn't write it down) of the Regional Auto Theft Task Force. But I had never heard of such a thing and I was wondering why his caller ID was blocked and the whole thing was very fishy and then the call was over.

I did talk to the SD Police and they just kid of shrugged; though they did say it was standard practice for Detectives to have caller-ID blocked on their cell phones. I haven't pursued it further.

The broader point though is that I don't see why people think Tesla Model S's are so secure and safe and worry-free in terms of theft.

Seems they're highly desirable cars just for parts alone. *Especially* now that the 21" wheels are what, $4500 for the set? Just taking the Tesla to a chop shop might be very lucrative.

Personally, I wish the car were more secure. I wish it had a startup PIN or something. At the very least, a PIN for making any settings like disabling the remote access! And I don't particularly like the fob thingie. Anyways, I'll prolly do a writeup on my observations of the car once I have had it for a while.

I would think it is one of the cars you wouldn't want to steal as it can be easily tracked vs a more common car like a Camry, Civic or Accord. The most common stolen cars are ones that are sold in mass and can easily be sold for parts.

 

[sp4rk]

I'm thinking the mods should cleanse this thread ... it's all fine and well discussing this, but not in "PUBLIC"!

 

[dsm363]

I'm thinking the mods should cleanse this thread ... it's all fine and well discussing this, but not in "PUBLIC"!

What exactly should we not discuss in public? I'm pretty sure if a Model S is stolen, it wouldn't be because someone read TMC and decided to steal one on a whim.

 

[sp4rk]

What exactly should we not discuss in public? I'm pretty sure if a Model S is stolen, it wouldn't be because someone read TMC and decided to steal one on a whim.

The thread is not helping. I am not one for censorship; but common sense suggests not to publish this potential hole.

 

[gregincal]

No. If you have a U.S. car, just drive to Canada. The car drops off the map to everyone, including Tesla. I assume it's the same for going to China etc.

It doesn't drop off the map to the carriers. The 3G chip is broadcasting its IMEI to every cell tower in range, and the carrier is looking up the account info to see whether roaming is enabled. I'm pretty sure with a court order it could be tracked.

- - - Updated - - -

The thread is not helping. I am not one for censorship; but common sense suggests not to publish this potential hole.

Somebody who decides to steal something based on something they read somewhere on the internet is an idiot.

 

[Johann Koeber]

....


Somebody who decides to steal something based on something they read somewhere on the internet is an idiot.

Agree.

But it is the idiots that do a lot of damage.

 

[portia]

"Seems they're highly desirable cars just for parts alone. *Especially* now that the 21" wheels are what, $4500 for the set? Just taking the Tesla to a chop shop might be very lucrative."
I would think the opposite is true, it is much more useful and easy for the thieves to steal a different car, what can you do with a stolen Tesla other than take the wheels/tires, those are Tesla list prices, what's the real street price? Most or all other parts are not useable on other cars. And in the US, it can be tracked easily.

 

[Doug_G]

No. If you have a U.S. car, just drive to Canada. The car drops off the map to everyone, including Tesla. I assume it's the same for going to China etc.

The Canadian cars are actually on an AT&T plan, but are "roaming" in Canada. Go figure. Evidently the data plans provided with the US cars don't provide for access in Canada. But I'll bet Tesla can access the car anyway.

 

[neroden]

The broader point though is that I don't see why people think Tesla Model S's are so secure and safe and worry-free in terms of theft.

They are not remotely secure. Very little effort was taken for software security.

I don't worry about it because my car is unlikely to be a hacker target. If I knew I was likely to be a target (say, I was an NSA whistleblower or something), I would get a very different car.

Seems they're highly desirable cars just for parts alone. *Especially* now that the 21" wheels are what, $4500 for the set? Just taking the Tesla to a chop shop might be very lucrative.

Not really. Most of the parts are not transferrable to other cars (the wheels are an exception, and I got the 19" wheels). Attempting to resell any of the unique-to-Tesla parts would raise immediate suspicion due to Tesla Motors Company's monopoly on new parts -- people would ask "OK, which VIN did these come from?". Most of the Tesla car parts are likely to be non-fenceable at the moment. I suppose that will probably change eventually, but that's an advantage to having a car with so many unique parts.

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I'm thinking the mods should cleanse this thread ... it's all fine and well discussing this, but not in "PUBLIC"!

On the contrary, publicity is what makes things more secure. Security by obscurity does not work. Have you read Schneier on Security?

Only code keys and similar things should be kept secret. Designs cannot really be kept secret, and it's better for the "good guys" to know them as well as the bad guys, so that the good guys know what the risks are. A basic principle of the design of bank vaults is to *publish the design*, for example.

 

[NoMoGas]

This thread should be re-named "Rampant speculation on all things Tesla" :biggrin:

 

[nspollution]

The thread is not helping. I am not one for censorship; but common sense suggests not to publish this potential hole.

When you are afraid to have discussions like this, the only people armed with proper information are the bad guys.

So, no, it's not common sense. It's nonsense.

 

[heems]

I read somewhere that the Model S is hackable through a spectacular failure in the API. Maybe they stole it this way.

Oh you are being naughty....

 

[NigelM]

They are not remotely secure. Very little effort was taken for software security.

I'm willing to bet you a large sum of money for charity that you can't hack my car.

 

[CapitalistOppressor]

I'm thinking the mods should cleanse this thread ... it's all fine and well discussing this, but not in "PUBLIC"!

I disagree, but given that the OP is located in California, I'm prepared to stipulate that discussing this in a smoke filled room might be a rather pleasant alternative...

 

[CanuckS#69]

They are not remotely secure. Very little effort was taken for software security.

Citation Needed.

 

[Thumper]

Gone in Sixty seconds? Gone in 60 Seconds? Easy to Hack Into a Tesla, Security Expert Says - NBC News

Thoughts.