A Canadian tourist visiting Oakland was surprised to see the local police towing his Tesla right out of the hotel parking lot — however, it turned out that this practice is common in the United States.
The fact is that video recorded by Tesla’s electric car cameras can provide important evidence for solving crimes. In this case, the Canadian’s car probably witnessed the murder of a van driver who was parked nearby — the man was shot and stabbed and eventually died in the hospital. The Canadian quickly provided the police with all the necessary information from Tesla, and the driver was left alone.
Modern cars have a lot of different sensors and cameras used for driver assistance systems. And cases when police take away vehicles to search for evidence are very common in the United States.
Over the past two months, three Teslas have been towed in Oakland alone. This car has advantages for finding evidence because it is equipped with the Sentry Mode security system. Usually, the owner is asked for permission to enter, but if they cannot be reached, a search warrant is issued and the car is temporarily impounded.
Another case occurred in July, near a cosmetics store in Oakland. During a quarrel between a group of people, a shooting started, killing a 27-year-old woman. The police who arrived at the scene towed away three cars (including a Tesla Model X) parked nearby, obtained the necessary evidence, and arrested two people.
Tesla describes Sentry Mode as «a feature that allows you to track activities around your car when it is parked and locked». Recording automatically starts as soon as motion is detected, depending on the level of threat — probably loud noises, gunshots, screams, etc.
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Source: carscoops
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