Skip to main content

A Car Jacking Attempt Targeting a Tesla Model Y in Los Angeles Thwarted By 3 Citizens – Here is What to Do If You Find Yourself in a Similar Situation in Your Tesla

In the middle of the street & broad daylight, a Tesla Model Y owner in LA became a victim of a carjacking attempt. However, three passersby banned together and stopped the assailant. Here are all the options you’ve as a Tesla owner in a similar situation.
Tesla Model Y

It is an unfortunate reality that when out on the roads, you could be presented with a lot of danger. Usually, the danger comes in the form of a motor vehicle accident; however, your fellow man can also intentionally orchestrate harm towards you.

One Tesla Model Y owner in Los Angeles recently found himself in such a precarious situation. The video only starts in the middle of the kerfuffle, and it’s hard to point out how everything began.

However, when the video starts, you can see a man standing next to a white Tesla Model Y stopped at a traffic light in the middle of the street.

This is the apparent carjacker, and he is trying to pull the Model Y driver out of his car forcefully. The incident is taking place in broad daylight and in the middle of the street.

What is interesting here is that the carjacker is claiming that the Model Y in question is his vehicle and is trying to drum up support from passersby to throw the legitimate owner out of his own vehicle.

@chillingmyg on TikTok shared this video, and he captured the carjacking attempt from inside his own vehicle.

As you can see, the Model Y owner is refusing to give up his vehicle despite the carjacker's attempt. The person taping the video starts rallying passersby to stop the carjacker, and within seconds, two guys reach the scene.

Luckily, rather than seeking to remove themselves from the potentially violent situation, these two individuals approached the vehicle and started pulling the carjacker off the Model Y owner.

Despite their efforts, the carjacker persists in his attempt to throw out the Model Y owner and drive away with the car. However, thanks to their action, they were able to stall the carjacker long enough for police to arrive at the scene.

Related News: It Rained a Little & Only 3 Days After Taking Delivery, My Tesla Cybertruck “Cyber Wheels” are Already Completely Rusted

First, an LAPD helicopter starts hoovering around the ongoing crime scene, and within a few seconds, a police patrol vehicle with two police officers arrives at the scene.

The two individuals point to the carjacker, and the video ends when the LAPD officers tackle and restrain the criminal.

In this day and age, it’s surprising to see people stick out their necks for people they don’t know. However, we want to give big kudos to these good samaritans, and we hope that if they ever find themselves in the reverse position, other people will step up to help them out.

While their brave efforts are commendable, let’s still examine what other choices you have if you find yourself in a similar situation in your Tesla vehicle.

In the past, cars had keys and ignition, and if a carjacker got access to the vehicle, he could drive it away and potentially never be seen.

However, modern cars are more connected than ever, and unless you are dealing with a sophisticated criminal organization, it’s almost impossible to steal a Tesla vehicle and get away with it.

First, all Tesla vehicles are connected to the internet, and the vehicle owner can track the location of his/her vehicle through the Tesla app.

If you find yourself in a similar situation with a carjacker, you can leave your vehicle and reasonably expect that you can track it down later with the help of the police.

This way, you will not have to put yourself at increased risk while also avoiding permanently losing your property.

The second choice is to enable a PIN to drive in your Tesla vehicle if you are in a crime-prone area. Tesla allows you to set up a 4-digit PIN that anyone attempting to drive your vehicle must input before driving your vehicle.

This feature is supported by all of Tesla’s vehicles, including the Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, and even the brand-new Cybertruck.

This means that even if a carjacker gets access to your vehicle, he will not be able to drive away with it; you can leave the scene and call the police, who will likely find the assailant stranded in the car.

The PIN-to-drive option not only stops petty thieves and carjackers but also works against sophisticated criminals who are educated about Tesla vehicles and remove the SIM card to stop the vehicle from being tracked.

Overall, we hope you remember that even if a carjacker drives away with your Tesla, you can easily track and recover your vehicle, saving you from unnecessary danger.

We also recommend that every Tesla owner, especially those living in a crime-prone area, activate the PIN-to-drive functionality, which makes their vehicle virtually theft-proof.

We want to congratulate the people who stopped the carjacking and will keep you posted if we get an update on what exactly happened. Until then, make sure to visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.

So, what do you think? Are you surprised to see people banding together to stop a crime in progress? What would you have done if you were in a similar situation? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below by clicking the red “Add new comment” button.

Image: Screenshot from @chillingmyg’s TikTok video

For more information, check out: An Hour After I Picked Up My Brand-New Cybertruck, I Rear-Ended a Tesla Model 3, but It’s Not My Fault, My Cybertruck Brake Pedal Failed

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and the evolution of the EV space daily for several years. He covers everything about Tesla, from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.

Automotive News
Electric Vehicle News and Reviews
News Opinion
Pickup Trucks
TorqueNews Hot Topics
Tesla
Tesla Cybertruck
Tesla Model 3
Tesla Model Y