Another vandal has been caught by Tesla’s Sentry Mode, this time following a person who took a bat to a new Model 3 Performance.
On Thursday, Model 3 Performance owner and TikTok user adidasemoji posted video footage from his car’s Sentry Mode of a person parking beside his vehicle, getting out, and smashing the vehicle’s rear passenger-side panel with a bat. In the video, the owner says he took delivery of the Model 3 Performance just three days earlier. However, by Friday, the vandal had already been found by authorities.
The user followed up with another video on Friday, noting that the vandal’s identity had been found, and adding that he was planning to press charges. The incident took place in Somerset, New Jersey while the user was at work, and you can check out the original footage below.
@adidasemoji uhm somone help find this person thank you un advance this was in Somerset New jersey police report was made hopefully something can be done about this ! #tesla #vandalized #model3 #cars
The user also went on to explain in another Friday video that, after contacting his insurance company, he found out that the issue will require a deductible to pay for and will show up in the future as an accident for the vehicle. Now, he’s debating if he should go through insurance after all, though he’s still thankful that police have found the vandal.
The news comes as the latest in a string of vandalism efforts targeting Tesla’s vehicles, and particularly against the somewhat newly released Cybertruck. Last month, a Tesla Cybertruck’s windows were smashed with children in the backseat, as captured on Ring video.
A fleet of Tesla Cybertrucks in June were spray painted with “F**k Elon” in Florida, to which Musk responded on X, saying “Message received.”
While the vandals in some of these incidents were found, others were not, though Sentry Mode has been a useful tool for law enforcement in a few cases over the last few years.
Just last week, Tesla’s Sentry Mode assisted police in a search for a suspect who had been on the run for eight months, while others have managed to find suspects who have vandalized their own Teslas, like the example above.
Shocking Tesla Sentry Mode video shows man allegedly setting Model S on fire
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