Connect with us

News

Tesla’s Model S and Model X are nearly 90% less likely to be stolen in the United States

Published

7 years ago

on

Tesla’s electric cars seem to be building a reputation as vehicles that thieves actively avoid. According to the Highway Loss Data Institute, which recently published its list of vehicles that are most likely to get stolen in the United States, the Tesla Model S and Model X are almost 90% less likely to get stolen than the average car. 

Highway Loss Data Institute vice president Matt Moore stated that vehicle theft is a matter of opportunity and market value. This is among the reasons why this year, the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, which has a price of around $64,000, topped the list of most-stolen vehicles in the market. Being premium electric cars, the Tesla Model S and Model X certainly meet the criteria of price, but the way they are used by their owners make them pretty tough to steal. 

Moore notes that when electric vehicles are not in use, they are usually parked in a garage, or at least close to their owners’ homes, so that they can be plugged in overnight. This practice is common among electric car owners, and it allows each car to leave every day with a “full tank” of power. “Vehicle theft is a crime of opportunity, and electric cars parked in locked garages where they are recharging certainly makes it harder for a thief,” he explained.

Tesla’s electric cars are also equipped with a suite of security features that are actively designed to prevent thefts. Among these are PIN to Drive, which requires a four-digit verification code that must be entered before a vehicle could be driven; Sentry Mode, which monitors a vehicle’s surroundings and engages a series of visual and audible alarms once a break-in is attempted; and Intrusion Sensors, an optional accessory that intermittently pulses ultrasonic waves throughout the cabin and triggers an alarm if the signal is disturbed.

Advertisement

Apart from these security features, data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Crime Information Center have shown that Teslas that actually do get stolen are usually recovered. Between 2011 and May 2018, the National Crime Information Center tracked 115 Tesla thefts, and among this number, an impressive 112 were recovered. An example of this could be seen in a remarkable story involving an attempted theft of a Model S that ended up being involved in a dramatic transatlantic theft and rescue. During the entire duration of the vehicle’s journey all the way to its retrieval, the Model S’ owner was able to monitor the car’s exact location through GPS. 

The HLDI notes that ultimately, how often a car or truck is stolen will impact how much owners of the vehicle will pay for auto insurance. Thus, vehicles like the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, for example, will likely carry a higher insurance premium, particularly when they are being driven in areas where the rate of auto thefts are high. This should bode well for owners of Tesla’s electric cars, as some insurance providers still quote high premiums for the company’s vehicles. 

Teslas and muscle cars aside, car thefts across the United States have been at a decline in recent years, with the National Insurance Crime Bureau reporting 773,139 vehicles being stolen in 2017, down 53% from 1991, when car thefts across the country peaked at 1.66 million vehicles.

Advertisement
Related Topics:

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

Advertisement
Comments

Elon Musk

SpaceXAI just launched into your kitchen with their new app

SpaceXAI just powered its first consumer app and it predicts what you want to buy.

Published

3 hours ago

on

June 4, 2026

By

SpaceXAI just made its first move into consumer AI, and it involves your grocery cart. On June 3, 2026, Gopuff and SpaceXAI announced the launch of Go, a Grok-powered shopping assistant built directly into the Gopuff app that predicts what you need before you even start searching for it.

Gopuff is an instant delivery platform that operates more than 400 micro-fulfillment centers across the U.S., delivering everyday essentials, snacks, drinks, and household items in as little as 15 minutes. It is not a restaurant delivery app or a marketplace. It owns its inventory, controls its warehouses, and handles its own logistics, which means it has built one of the most detailed consumer behavior datasets in retail over its 13-year history.

Go combines SpaceXAI’s advanced reasoning, voice, and image generation models with Gopuff’s dataset of hundreds of millions of orders and real-time cultural signals from X to prepare a suggested cart the moment a customer opens the app. It learns each shopper’s habits and automatically builds a personalized cart based on time of day, location, order history, and real-time indicators. Returning customers can check out with a single tap.


Rather than searching for specific items, users can describe a situation like a game-day party or the desire for a healthy breakfast and Go will assemble a cart automatically. It can also predict when shoppers are running low on items like coffee or paper towels and have them packed and delivered in under 15 minutes. Grok voice integration lets users talk to the app in plain conversational language and check out completely hands-free.

Gopuff co-founder and co-CEO Yakir Gola said: “Today, we believe the greatest friction left in commerce is not delivery or instantaneous access to the essentials customers need. It’s the moment before: the thinking, the deciding, the remembering. We’re combining Gopuff’s demand intelligence with xAI’s frontier reasoning to create an everyday shopping experience that feels like a true extension of you.”

Why SpaceX just made a $60 billion bet on AI coding ahead of historic IPO

The timing carries context beyond the product launch. SpaceXAI was formed after SpaceX completed an all-stock merger with Elon Musk’s xAI earlier this year, folding one of the most advanced AI labs in the world into the same corporate structure as the company preparing what could be the largest IPO in history. SpaceXAI is dipping into consumer-focused AI just as it prepares for its public debut, and while Musk has openly discussed building an everything app, this launch uses Grok to power another company’s product rather than launching a standalone consumer platform. Every consumer-facing deployment of Grok ahead of the IPO roadshow adds tangible evidence that SpaceXAI is not just an infrastructure play but a direct competitor in the AI application layer where OpenAI and Google are already fighting for dominance.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla piggybacks recent Supercharger feature with update that takes it further

Published

15 hours ago

on

June 3, 2026

By

Credit: Tesla

Tesla has introduced an enhanced visualization in its Supercharger navigation system, building directly on the Site Maps feature rolled out a few months ago.

This latest software update adds detailed 3D icons that represent specific vehicle models parked at charging stalls, offering drivers a more precise view of site occupancy and layout.

The Site Maps debuted in Tesla’s 2025 Holiday Update, providing 3D overviews of select Supercharger locations with real-time stall availability.

Tesla supplements Holiday Update by sneaking in new Full Self-Driving version

Drivers could see which spots were open, occupied, or out of service when navigating to supported stations.

Now, the system takes this capability further by rendering accurate representations of Tesla vehicles, including distinctions between models such as the Model 3, Model Y, Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck. These icons appear as lifelike 3D renderings, complete with recognizable shapes and proportions that match the actual cars charging at the site:

This refinement improves the user experience during road trips and daily charging stops. As drivers approach a Supercharger, the navigation display now shows not just generic occupied markers but identifiable vehicle types plugged into each stall.

Blue indicators highlight active charging sessions, while other visual cues denote availability or maintenance status. The feature integrates seamlessly with the existing map interface, allowing quick assessment of the best available spot based on vehicle size and positioning.

Tesla continues to expand the availability of these detailed Site Maps across its global network. Initially piloted at a limited number of locations, the rollout has progressed steadily, with more stations gaining support in recent software versions.

Owners benefit from better planning, as the system helps identify compatible stalls and reduces uncertainty upon arrival. The update reflects Tesla’s ongoing commitment to refining its navigation and charging ecosystem through iterative software improvements.

In addition to model-specific icons, the enhanced maps maintain all prior functionalities, such as integration with nearby amenities and energy usage predictions. This ensures a comprehensive tool for efficient Supercharging.

As Tesla’s fleet grows and the network scales, such features play a key role in optimizing the overall ownership experience. Future updates may extend similar visualizations to additional sites and incorporate even more data points for drivers.

With this piggyback enhancement, Tesla demonstrates how small but thoughtful additions can elevate an already useful tool, making Supercharger visits smoother and more informed for its customers. The company is expected to broaden the feature’s reach in upcoming releases, further solidifying its leadership in EV charging infrastructure.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.3 driver monitoring: We tested it

Published

15 hours ago

on

June 3, 2026

By

Credit: TESLARATI

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.3 driver monitoring was reportedly scaled back in recent releases, but a new version that was released in the early hours of June 3 aimed to do a better job of keeping those in control of their cars honest, according to release notes.

The release notes for FSD v14.3.3, via Software Version 2026.14.6.7 added:

“Improved driver monitoring system sensitivity with better eye gaze tracking, eye wear handling, and higher accuracy in variable lighting conditions.”
However, Tesla said this was already enabled in the first rollout of FSD v14.3.3 in late May. We tested it anyway, especially as the Standard Speed Profile seemed less-than-worried about what you were doing during operation.

I decided to try out the Hurry and Mad Max Speed Profiles for this test, and it gave me results that I would have expected. Tesla has evidently ramped up driver monitoring based on the Speed Profile you are using to travel.

The more aggressive the Speed Profile, the more on the hook you will be for taking your attention away from the road. Our testing showed that Mad Max was less likely to allow you to do normal things like change music or adjust navigation without getting an on-screen warning or nag from the driver monitoring system.

Hurry Mode Results

On Hurry, the driver monitoring system on FSD v14.3.3, via Software Version 2026.14.6.7, was more restrictive than Standard but less restrictive than Mad Max. I found that I could scroll through music options for a considerable amount of time, more than 30 seconds:

Standard gave me about 80 seconds of phone scrolling with absolutely no nags or warnings in a previous test. It is worth noting that this was a previous branch of v14.3.3, but Standard is such a goodie-two-shoes on the road that it is my impression it would not change much.

Mad Max Results

I spent the majority of the drive on Mad Max to see how it truly reacted to the driver having their attention elsewhere. While I did do a short phone test, I am aiming to steer away from those and use the center screen. I think it is a valid criticism that the phone test is dangerous and, not to mention, illegal in Pennsylvania. Changing the navigation and music is a more reasonable, more responsible, and safer test.

With Mad Max being the fastest and most aggressive Speed Profile, I anticipated this being the quickest mode to give me an alert that I needed to look at the road. That was the case with music:

As well as adjusting Navigation, when I received two nags:

These nags were more than reasonable, and I think it’s probably good that Tesla is ramping up the driver monitoring. I do believe that it should be relatively strict across all of the Speed Profiles, especially with phone use. When using the center screen, the nag intervals should be based on the speed profile you are utilizing at the time.

These driver monitoring adjustments are a great thing to have while FSD is still under its “Supervised” moniker, but I expect Tesla to continue pushing the limits on what it will allow, especially considering CEO Elon Musk has hinted that phone use is capable with the more recent versions.

You can watch the full drive on YouTube below:

 

Continue Reading