Photo: @frankvidz
Tesla’s Sentry Mode has helped solve a crime or two in the past few years, but a new case surfacing this week shows a car renter sinking to new lows.
One Tesla owner recently caught their Turo renter swapping out his vehicle’s parts, as seen in a TikTok video shared by user @frankvidz (via Reddit).
Using live GPS and live camera view, the owner was able to discover that someone had been tampering with the vehicle’s parts.
The video says the driver later found out that the renter has a website for selling aftermarket car parts and Tesla parts, including bumpers, spoilers and body kits.
In the video, the owner confronts the renter at an auto garage, and you can see the Tesla up on a jack being worked on. There’s a different bumper on the Tesla, while the original sits just a few feet away.
Tesla Sentry Mode from Random Cars Helps Band Film Music Video [WATCH] https://t.co/c5C6DnQElc
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) July 28, 2021
The owner walked into the garage and said, “Excuse me sir, what are you doing to my car?”
In response, the renter said he was “just testing something.”
The owner then responded, “Testing something? Because it looks like you’re replacing some parts.”
Continuing, the owner asks if he should be worried or should call the police about the vehicle, also noting that taking apart a car like this isn’t allowed on Turo.
Despite the alleged crime, the host is fairly calm about the “mishap,” saying that he and his partner aren’t going to leave until the parts are switched back, and that he’s going to have the police come to the auto shop.
According to some “sleuthing” by Reddit user ‘snoutpower’, what might be happening is the alleged shop, ABS Dynamics in City of Industry, California, is testing its body kit parts on a rented Tesla via Turo, as it was possible they couldn’t find a Tesla to test their parts on.
It appears the body shop didn’t know that a Tesla owner gets notifications when doors, trunks and frunks are left open. Plus, with Sentry Mode, all actions are recorded and live viewing is possible through the Tesla mobile app, along with exact location data.
