Police could seize your Tesla if it was near a crime scene

Why clog up the city with cameras if there are already plenty of them cruising around the streets?

US authorities are finding increasingly novel ways to solve crimes. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that one way to catch perpetrators red-handed is to extract video footage from multiple cameras mounted on Teslas.

A recent case involves a suspected homicide where a man was found with stab and gunshot wounds in an RV. To get to the bottom of the crime, the Oakland Police Department contacted a Canadian tourist whose Tesla was parked nearby.

According to the Chronicle, police may even take the car so as not to lose the crucial video data, which is only stored for a limited amount of time. Reportedly, the authorities rely on Tesla‘s “Sentry Mode,” a feature that consists of cameras and sensors that record noise and movement around a locked Tesla.

Interestingly, local media obtained search warrants written by the authorities asking permission to take over the vehicle to secure “Sentry Mode” data. This is stored on a USB stick, which is located in the glove box.

“I know that Tesla vehicles contain external surveillance cameras in order to protect their drivers from theft and/or liability in accidents. Based on this information, I respectfully request that a warrant is authorized to seize this vehicle […] so this vehicle’s surveillance footage may be searched via an additional search warrant at a secure location,” Officer Kevin Godchaux wrote in the search warrant affidavit obtained by the journalists.