Tesla cars being towed by cops desperate to view their onboard cameras to solve crime

Tesla owners have found their vehicles missing thanks to police who towed them to obtain camera footage that may be crucial evidence in a case, it is claimed

Typically, there's a lot for a Tesla owner to be worried about from a battery dying to body panels detaching to water inadvertently causing a fire. However, proud owners say they never expected their cars to be carried off by police due to their dashboard containing crucial evidence of a crime.

“When you have these cars on the roads that are constantly capturing information, even when they’re parked, the police can look to them as a resource,” Electronic Frontier Foundation staff attorney Saira Hussain told the San Fransisco Chronicle. “That obviously puts third parties — people who are not involved at all — in the crosshairs of investigations.”

Owners in California told CarScoops their vehicles, which were parked in or near crime scenes, were towed by police because the dashcams likely captured the perpetrator in the act. The footage is so valuable to officers because the cars were put in Sentry Mode which activates all the onboard cameras and captures everything happening outside the vehicle.

The owner of the high-tech vehicle are usually unrelated to the crime, so police typically ask to access the car's Sentry Mode backup USB drive, which can be found inside the glove box, and download the contents. In some instances, the owner can't be reached in time, so officers take the liberty of towing the car for evidence.

The practice became routine fairly quickly as police in Oakland, California carried off at least three Teslas in July and August, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. On July 1, a man bearing both stab and gunshot wounds was discovered in an RV and rushed to the hospital but died shortly after.

The homicide investigators returned to the site of the RV and noticed a Tesla had been parked opposite to the mobile home. The owner was a tourist from Canada who arrived to the scene just as authorities had his Tesla on a towing hook. He expectedly allowed the cops to access the Sentry Mode drive and download what they needed without the hassle of having to collect his car from the police station.

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Another time, police made progress while investigating a shooting because a victim happened to be in the back. While cops began hauling the car off to access the footage, they noticed an individual with a gunshot wound sitting in the back. The person's involvement in the shooting is currently unclear but no arrests have been made in relation to the crime.

Sentry Mode is motion and noise-activated. Once triggered, the car cameras turn on and record everything happening around the vehicle. Police don't have to go directly to Tesla to obtain the footage, instead track down the owners and ask permission to access the drive. Obtaining a warrant for the footage is also an option.