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Tesla Model 3 keying suspect confesses after Sentry Mode video goes viral

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A Tesla Model 3 owner who fell victim to a keying incident in the San Francisco Bay Area has located the perpetrator with the help of Sentry Mode and the local police.

Justice Frimpong, a Software Engineer for e-commerce giant Amazon noticed a large scratch on the driver’s side door of his Tesla Model 3 after running everyday errands. The scratch was evidence Frimpong had become the most recent victim of a keying incident on a Tesla vehicle, an all-too-common occurrence as of recently.

After Frimpong noticed the scratch on his Model 3, Sentry Mode captured his reaction to finding the blemish caused by the culprit. Luckily, Sentry Mode also captured the incident of the man scratching Frimpong’s Model 3, as well as multiple angles of the man’s face and his initial approach to the vehicle. Frimpong told Tesla CEO Elon Musk he loves Sentry Mode, and judging by past incidents of the same nature, he knew there was a big possibility the man who keyed his vehicle will be brought to justice.

Frimpong uploaded a thread of tweets containing several pieces of Sentry Mode footage, including clear angles of the perpetrator’s face and the moment his vehicle was keyed. The tweet thread gained quite a bit of traction, as the story reached local news outlets. With the help of Sentry Mode and the local police department, the man who keyed Frimpong’s Model 3 was brought to justice.

Frimpong stated his Sentry Mode footage captured the license plate of the man who keyed his vehicle. He turned the plate number into police, who were able to use the information to locate the suspect. Frimpong stated the perpetrator denied being in the same location as his Tesla Model 3, but when police told him they were in possession of Sentry Mode footage of the keying, the perpetrator quickly confessed to the crime. The man will be responsible for paying for damages, but it is not known what the motive for the vandalism was.

Incidents of Tesla vehicles being keyed are becoming far too common in recent months. With the help of Tesla’s Sentry Mode, all of the people who decided to key a vehicle made by the Silicon Valley-based electric car maker have been brought to justice. Earlier in October, a woman in Broomfield, Colorado turned herself in after keying a Model 3 at a high school soccer game. She was booked on the charge of Criminal Mischief, a felony in the area of Colorado where the keying took place.

While keying vehicles will more than likely never stop, Sentry Mode gives Tesla owners the ability to identify the person who damaged their vehicle. In recent incidents, the culprits have been identified and charged with numerous penalties for intentionally keying someone’s Tesla. Sentry Mode has captured many other incidents not related to keying or intentional damage as well. In this instance, however, it is expected the vehicle’s automatically recording cameras will help identify the man who committed this horrible act.

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Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla Full Self-Driving expands in Europe, entering its second country

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has officially expanded its Full Self-Driving (FSD) suite in Europe once again, as it will now be offered to customer vehicles in Lithuania, marking a significant milestone as the second European Union country to offer the system.

Tesla confirmed FSD’s rollout in Lithuania this morning:

Tesla showed several clips of Full Self-Driving navigation in Lithuania to mark the announcement, while Lithuanian Transport Minister Juras Taminskas highlighted the system’s potential to assist with lane-keeping, speed adjustment, and traffic tasks on longer drives, while emphasizing that drivers must stay alert and ready to intervene.

Just a few weeks ago, Tesla officially entered Europe with Full Self-Driving in the Netherlands. The expansion of FSD on the continent is now officially underway.

Tesla Full Self-Driving gets first-ever European approval

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Full Self-Driving’s European Journey

Europe has long posed one of the toughest regulatory challenges for Tesla’s autonomy ambitions due to stringent safety standards under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) framework, particularly UN Regulation 171 for Driver Control Assistance Systems.

The Netherlands’ RDW authority granted the pioneering approval after over 18 months of rigorous testing, including 1.6 million kilometers on European roads and extensive data submissions.

This approval enables mutual recognition across the EU, allowing other member states to adopt it nationally without full re-testing. Lithuania quickly leveraged this mechanism, becoming the second adopter. Tesla positions FSD Supervised as a tool to incrementally improve road safety, with the company claiming it reduces incidents when used properly.

Bottlenecks slowing broader European deployment include fragmented national regulations, varying levels of regulatory skepticism, and requirements for robust driver monitoring. Some EU officials have raised concerns about performance in adverse conditions like icy roads or speeding scenarios, alongside frustrations over Tesla’s public advocacy approach.

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Additional hurdles involve data privacy, liability frameworks, and the need for EU-wide harmonization. While countries like Belgium appear to be fast-tracking adoption, larger markets such as Germany, France, and Italy are expected to follow in the coming months, with potential EU-wide progress targeted for later in 2026.

Tesla Full Self-Driving Across the World

As of May, Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is available in approximately ten countries.

In North America, it has been live for years in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Asia-Pacific additions include Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea, while China utilizes what Tesla calls “City Autopilot.” In Europe, the Netherlands and now Lithuania join the list, with more countries mulling the possibility of also approving FSD.

Tesla offers FSD via monthly subscriptions (around €99 in Europe) or one-time purchases (with deadlines approaching in many markets), shifting toward recurring revenue models. Today is the final day Europeans will be able to purchase the suite outright.

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This expansion underscores Tesla’s push for global autonomy, starting with supervised and building toward greater capabilities. With Lithuania now online, momentum is building across Europe, though regulatory caution will continue shaping the pace. Owners in approved regions report smoother highway and urban driving, but the system remains Level 2, which requires human oversight.

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Elon Musk

Tesla ditches India after years of broken promises

Tesla has ditched its plans to build a factory in India after years of failed negotiations.

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Tesla’s long-running effort to establish a manufacturing presence in India is officially over. India’s Minister of Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy confirmed on May 19, 2026 that Tesla has informed authorities it will not proceed with a manufacturing facility in the country.

Tesla first signaled serious interest in India around 2021, when it began hiring local staff and lobbying the Indian government for lower import tariffs. The ask was straightforward: reduce duties enough for Tesla to test the market with imported vehicles before committing capital to a local factory. India’s position was equally firm, with an ask of Tesla to commit to manufacturing first, then receive tariff relief. Neither side moved, and the talks quietly collapsed.

Tesla to open first India experience center in Mumbai on July 15

India had offered a policy that would reduce import duties from 110% down to 15% on EVs priced above $35,000, provided companies committed at least $500 million toward local manufacturing investment within three years. Tesla declined to participate. The tariff standoff was only part of the problem. Analysts pointed to significant gaps in India’s local supply chain, inadequate industrial infrastructure, and a mismatch between Tesla’s premium pricing and the purchasing power of India’s automotive market as additional factors that made the investment difficult to justify.

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First signs of an unraveling relationship came in April 2024, when Musk abruptly cancelled a planned trip to India where he was set to meet Prime Minister Modi and announce Tesla’s market entry. By July 2024, Fortune reported that Tesla executives had stopped contacting Indian government officials entirely. The government at that point understood Tesla had capital constraints and no plans to invest.

The more fundamental issue is that Tesla’s existing factories are currently operating at approximately 60% capacity, making a commitment to building new manufacturing capacity in a new market difficult to defend to investors. Tesla will continue selling imported Model Y vehicles through its existing showrooms in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram, and Bengaluru, but local production is no longer part of the plan.

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SpaceX reveals date for maiden Starship v3 launch

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Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX has revealed the date for the maiden voyage of Starship v3, its newest and most advanced version of the rocket yet.

Starship v3 represents a significant leap forward. At 124 meters tall when fully stacked, it stands taller than previous versions and boasts substantial upgrades.

The vehicle incorporates next-generation Raptor 3 engines, which deliver higher thrust, improved reliability, and simplified designs with fewer parts. Both the Super Heavy booster (Booster 19) and the Starship upper stage (Ship 39) feature these enhancements, along with structural improvements for greater payload capacity—exceeding 100 metric tons to low Earth orbit in reusable configuration.

SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk have announced that the company aims to push the first launch of Starship v3 this Thursday. Musk included some clips of past Starship launches with the announcement.

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There are a lot of improvements to Starship v3 from past builds. Key hardware changes include a more robust heat shield, upgraded avionics, and modifications optimized for orbital refueling, a critical technology for future missions to the Moon and Mars. This flight marks the first launch from Starbase’s second orbital pad, allowing parallel operations and accelerating the cadence of tests.

This will be the 12th Starship launch for SpaceX. Flight 12 objectives include a full ascent profile, hot-staging separation, in-space engine relights, and reentry testing. The booster is expected to perform a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, while the ship will deploy 20 Starlink simulator satellites and a pair of modified Starlink V3 units before attempting reentry.

Success would validate V3’s design for operational use, paving the way for rapid reusability and higher flight rates.

The rapid evolution from V2 to V3 underscores SpaceX’s iterative approach. Previous flights demonstrated booster catches, ship landings, and heat shield advancements. V3 builds on these with nearly every component refined, supported by an expanding production line at Starbase that churns out vehicles at an unprecedented pace.

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Starship V3 is here putting SpaceX closer to Mars than it has ever been

This launch comes amid growing momentum for SpaceX’s ambitious goals. Starship is central to NASA’s Artemis program for lunar landings and Elon Musk’s vision of making humanity multiplanetary. A successful V3 debut would boost confidence in achieving orbital refueling and crewed missions in the coming years.

As excitement builds, enthusiasts and engineers alike await liftoff. Weather and technical readiness will determine the exact timing, but the community is optimistic. Starship V3 is poised to push the boundaries of spaceflight once again, bringing reusable interplanetary transport closer to reality.

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