Annabelle Brett, the radio host at Mix 1-6.3 Canberra, saved her Tesla Model 3 using the Tesla app. The only reason she was able to save her car is due to the smart technology Tesla offers. In an age where almost everyone uses smartphones and smart TVs, It isn’t surprising to have a smart car. Tesla is currently at the peak of smart cars. The various safety features that Tesla offers is a benchmark for other companies. These safety features have proved to be beneficial in luxury and emergency.
Tesla Owner Outwits Thieves To Save Model 3 From Getting Robbed
How the incident occurred
September of last year, Annabelle bought her first Tesla, the Tesla Model 3.
Does this car make my carbon footprint look small @elonmusk? ? #Tesla #Model3 #IJoinedACult #ByeBP #CatchyaCaltex #SeeyaShell #ElonGatedExcitement pic.twitter.com/VS8sqcOjSh
— A.B (@annabellebrett) September 25, 2019
Annabelle took this step to reduce the carbon footprint as per her tweet. Surely this wasn’t the only reason to opt for Tesla. The blend of efficiency with luxury that the Tesla offers, a variety of smart features, the upgrades that roll every 4 to 5 months must have played their part in her decision. More than a year later these features came to her aid.
Last week, Annabelle was getting ready for her work, when her phone sent an alert that her car alarm was going off. She was naturally taken aback by the notifications. Luckily, Annabelle had her friend along with her at the time. Her friend went to the parking to get hold of the situation. Much to his surprise, the car wasn’t in its usual position. As we know, Tesla has various features but the one relevant right now was the location tracking. Tesla Model 3 and in fact all the other models have a sim-card in it. Using this sim card, the Tesla app tracks the live location of the car.
In an interview, in the aftermath of the failed robbery, Annabelle said, “On my car phone app you can actually see where the car is. We noticed that it was just around the corner so without thinking jumped in the car called the police… and just basically followed them on the map. My phone app has the ability to slow down the car and also mess with it a bit, so I was able to put the windows down, beeps the horn, and basically screw with them as they were driving it.”
Failed Robbery and Consequential Mistakes Made
Ms. Brett and her friend followed the car’s live location. The car was just around the corner, I suspect the “messing around” worked. They were able to locate the car and confronted the alleged perpetrators. This resulted in them panicking. They left Ms. Brett’s car and rushed out of the place in their own car (I am hoping it was their car). Ms. Brett filmed the entire journey and had police on the phone simultaneously. The police were able to track down both the supposedly guilty individuals.
Once the car was retrieved safely the police and Ms. Brett examined the CCTV footage. This revealed that the would-be robbers approached Ms. Brett’s Tesla on their own (not so sure about this) blue car. The footage clearly shows one of them hacking at the window and removing a bag from inside. He takes this bag to the blue car. The same person enters Ms. Brett’s car and both the cars exit the parking hurriedly. What they probably didn’t know is the Tesla isn’t that easy to steal. Right about this time Ms. Brett must have gotten the notifications. This led to her slowing down the car using the app and some other “messing around”.
The plan worked and the alleged perpetrators fell hook, line, and sinker to it. Ms. Brett and her friend confronted them. This caused them to panic and rush out of the scene. Ms. Brett as we discussed had her camera on the whole time. She was able to get footage of the blue car’s number plate. The CCTV footage had already captured one of the individual’s faces. This brave move by Ms. Brett helped the cops to easily get hold of the alleged perpetrators. The photos of their faces and the number plates weren’t the only evidence cops had. One of them also left behind their unopened driver’s license with the address on it. Ironic isn’t it!
Smart Features and their Purpose
We have to talk about the features that Tesla Model 3 is equipped with. These features definitely foiled this robbery. Recently, a hacker named Green had revealed what the Tesla Model 3’s inside the car camera captured. The camera may capture what the driver and passengers are doing. However, when Tesla initially activated the cameras in the Tesla Model 3, they started collecting images and clips for research purposes with consent from the drivers:
“Help Tesla continue to develop safer vehicles by sharing camera data from your vehicle. This update will allow you to enable the built-in cabin camera above the rearview mirror. If enabled, Tesla will automatically capture images and a short video clip just before a collision or safety event to help engineers develop safety features and enhancements in the future. As usual, you can adjust your data sharing preferences by tapping Controls > Safety & Security > DATA Sharing > Camera Analytics.”
This has proved to be true. Along with the footage the CCTV, MS. Brett captured Tesla’s in-car camera was equally helpful. Thus, we can conclude that every feature may have its speculations but we have to acknowledge its importance. Especially in situations like these.
