It might seem like Teslas are targeted for vandalism more than other car brands, but that is just because Teslas have multiple on-board cameras capturing everything that is going on around them. This fact is still lost on most people, particularly those with a penchant for keying cars. In what may be one of the finest examples of karma and swift justice, Sentry Mode has captured a vandal keying a Model 3, and also her subsequent arrest.
The incident, shared by u/bmh669 on Reddit, started when the Model 3 owner was waiting for a car reversing out of a diagonal parking spot. The dashcam footage shows a Mercedes-Benz stopped on the side of the road, ahead of the car pulling out of the spot, who as it turns out was going to attempt to back up on the busy street and take the spot. Once the spot was free however, the Model 3 owner drives in, after which the Mercedes owner reverses and starts yelling that they took her spot.
With a suspicion that the upset driver was going to do something to his car, the Model 3 owners turns on Sentry Mode, which ends up capturing the suspect crossing the street a few minutes later and keying the rear and passenger side of the car, including the side repeater camera that was capturing her in the act.
After discovering the damage, and watching the footage in his car, the Model 3 owner was able to find the suspect at a nearby restaurant, who when confronted denied doing anything. Police were called, and the Mercedes owner also denied any wrongdoing to the police, not knowing that the police had already seen the video of her keying the car.
In the end the Model 3 owner decided to press charges, and the suspect was arrested on the spot for felony vandalism. The icing on the cake was that the same side repeater that was scratched captured her being walked away in cuffs.
According to u/bmh669, the cost to repair the damage was estimated at over $8,000. Fortunately insurance will cover the cost, and he says he will also be going after her to pay his deductible.
Unfortunately we can’t embed the video here, so you’ll have to head over to Reddit to see it. But it’s worth it.
