The police working with Tesla would be wise to leave some bait-cars around with extra cameras and nearby arrest teams to gather evidence to prosecute the gang(s) doing this.
What do they do about software updates though? They would probably have to break the firmware to if they still want any updates.
> For owners, it’s important to make sure that your Tesla account is secured with a strong password and to keep your key fobs in a secure location at a safe distance from the vehicle when parked.
The insinuation here is that owners had weak passwords and/or kept their keys in an insecure location at an unsafe distance from the vehicle. Another explanation could be that hacker-thieves found a way to access Tesla's without keys and/or passwords.
I have a friend who bought a late-model BMW and accidentally discovered that her keyless ignition is also fobless — if unlocked, her car will start even if the key fob is miles away. Not an easily discoverable bug, since she typically has her key with her when she approaches her car.
Perhaps they just loaded them onto a shielded vehicle, moved them, dismantled them, and spread the parts around via regular trucks?
I always wondered what thieves do with these vehicles though.
As the cars are stolen, its all easy money for everyone involved as the thief doesn't have to make 100k on it. Even a few grand could make it worth the effort. Then beyond the thief and the chop shop, no one needs know the parts are stolen.
In a way its a good sign for tesla, cars tend to be stolen at rates proportional to their popularity. It also means that there must be a functional market for the parts.
No thank you - oh my god, no thank you very much.
It's a real shame that Tesla has wedded their beautiful drivetrain engineering to such a creepy, cell-phone-esque system of automatic software updates and GPS tracking and giant touchscreens; I'd like to like their cars, but I want absolutely none of that.
