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Tesla Sentry Mode captures vandal’s attempt to break Model 3 charging plug

Credit: YouTube/Fernando C

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A Tesla Model 3 being charged overnight was subjected to a strange attack after a group of vandals began to tamper with its charger. The entire event was caught on one of the Model 3’s Sentry Mode cameras. Model 3 owner and YouTuber Fernando C posted the video from January 10. He states his vehicle was parked in the garage of the Park MGM Casino in Las Vegas at 2 AM when the incident occurred.

One male perpetrator initially tried to open the driver’s side door, but he seemed to be unfamiliar with the Model 3’s door handle mechanism and hence, he was unsuccessful. Another male then walked over and attempted to forcefully remove the charger from the Model 3’s charging port jack by its cord, also to no avail.

After realizing the charger was locked into the vehicle, the man then attempted to kick the charging plug from its side. This was also met with no success. The two men decided to just kick the car itself. The Model 3’s alarm was then triggered, prompting the two men to flee the scene.

The description of the video on YouTube states: “Our Model 3 was able to alert us that someone was tampering with the vehicle at 2am in Vegas. I had Sentry Mode on and it recorded these individuals trying to break off the charging plug. I was able to report and send this to Park MGM Security. Technology is kind of cool!”

While this is just another instance of hate toward Tesla vehicles and the electric car community as a whole, the incident could have been much worse. If the vandals succeeded in damaging the charging plug or the Model 3’s charging connector, the Tesla owner would have been subjected to hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, in repairs.

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Teslas automatically lock the charging connector into the car when it is plugged in and locked. This is one of the main factors that thwarted the vandals from their attempts at dislodging the Model 3’s charger. While his car was still vandalized and potentially damaged from the kicks the perpetrators laid into the side of the vehicle, the incident could have been much worse.

Teslas have been the target of many acts of vandalism in the past. Owners have reported keying, tire slashing, ICEing, and “Coal Roll”-styled attacks in the past few months. Damage to charging connectors has also been reported in the past but instances of this happening are far less frequent.

These attacks prove that the hazing of electric vehicles is still a very relevant issue. Some people hold such potent hatred for electric vehicles and environmental sustainability that they chose to damage vehicles that people bought with their hard-earned money for no obvious reason. Unfortunately, it will likely be a while before these attempts at vandalism stop. Luckily, Tesla’s Sentry Mode catches many of the vandals in the act and assists owners in bringing them to justice.

You can watch Fernando C’s video of his Tesla Model 3 being vandalized below.

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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 confirms massive hardware change for autonomy improvement

Tesla has confirmed that a recent change made to some of its recently refreshed vehicles is, in fact, a strategy it will use to improve its suite as it continues to work toward autonomy.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has confirmed that a recent change made to some of its recently refreshed vehicles is, in fact, a strategy it will use to improve its suite as it continues to work toward autonomy.

Tesla first introduced a front-facing camera on the front bumper with the Cybertruck.

Then, the Model Y “Juniper” received the hardware update. The Model S and Model X both received the front-facing camera with its latest update, which was officially revealed last week.

Tesla used new language with the release of the front-facing cameras on the Model S and Model X, confirming they will assist with several things, including “using Autopilot and Actually Smart Summon capabilities”:

“Enhanced visibility when parking or using Autopilot and Actually Smart Summon capabilities.”

This tiny feature on the new Tesla Model Y is perhaps its biggest addition

This is the first time Tesla has used this sort of language, as it was a completely different description with the launch of the new Model Y in January.

When Tesla launched this vehicle, it said the front bumper camera “provides a wider field of view for automatic assisted driving and advanced Smart Summon.”

Tesla switched from using cameras and sensors to only cameras with the launch of Tesla Vision several years ago. The company’s utilization of cameras comes from Tesla’s belief that Ultrasonic Sensors (USS) are not needed for self-driving efforts:

“Along with the removal of USS, we simultaneously launched our vision-based occupancy network – currently used in Full Self-Driving (FSD) (Supervised) – to replace the inputs generated by USS. With today’s software, this approach gives Autopilot high-definition spatial positioning, longer range visibility and the ability to identify and differentiate between objects. As with many Tesla features, our occupancy network will continue to improve rapidly over time.”

CEO Elon Musk has said that sensors were only a crutch and that self-driving would be solved through the use of cameras:

“When your vision works, it works better than the best human because it’s like having eight cameras, it’s like having eyes in the back of your head, beside your head, and has three eyes of different focal distances looking forward. This is — and processing it at a speed that is superhuman. There’s no question in my mind that with a pure vision solution, we can make a car that is dramatically safer than the average person.”

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Tesla launches new Model S and Model X, and the changes are slim

Tesla’s newest versions of its flagship vehicles have arrived with some slim changes.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has officially launched the newest versions of its flagship Model S and Model X vehicles, but the changes are pretty slim, which is something we expected when a couple cars were spotted during public testing recently.

The new “refreshed” Model S and Model X were spotted recently by The Kilowatts, and the changes appeared to be a new front camera, a new color, and only a handful of other changes.

Tesla officially announced the launch of the Model S and Model X on Thursday night, and here’s what it listed as the changes to the two vehicles:

  • Frost Blue paint color
  • Up to 410 miles of range (Model S Long Range – our longest range Tesla yet)
  • Even quieter inside: less wind + road noise & more effective Active Noise Cancellation
  • New wheel designs & improved aerodynamics = more range
  • Front fascia camera for better visibility
  • Dynamic ambient lighting that brings unique animations along the dash & doors upon entry
  • An even smoother ride thanks to new bushings & suspension design
  • Adaptive driving beams
  • New exterior styling for Model S Plaid, optimized for high-speed stability
  • More space for 3rd row occupants & cargo (Model X)

We expected most of these changes, especially the new Frost Blue paint color, as it was spotted by The Kilowatts in its initial coverage of the cars being spotted a few weeks back. Here’s what it looks like officially:

Some of the changes are familiar from the Model Y Refresh, which featured the quieter interior through acoustic-lined glass, a front fascia camera, new bushings, and suspension improvements for a smoother ride.

However, Tesla did refine the Model S Plaid’s exterior for “optimized high-speed stability.” You can see the difference between the two below:

The front-end air diffusers are much deeper, and the front end is more boxy than the previous iteration of the Plaid Model S.

Here are some more images of the Model S that Tesla released in a teaser video:

Tesla sells such a low volume of the Model S and Model X that it was probably less than likely that the company would put endless manpower and effort into completely redesigning it. CEO Elon Musk said a few years ago that the two cars would only stay in production for “sentimental reasons.” 

While they are very special to the Tesla family, they are not incredibly important to the mission of the company.

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Tesla teases new color while testing refreshed Model S, X

Tesla teased a new color that could be coming to the United States with the new Model S and Model X.

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Credit: @supergeek18 | X

Tesla appears to be teasing a brand new color while it was testing the refreshed Model S and Model X, which was spotted last week in California.

Tesla currently offers six paint options in the United States, but they are all pretty basic. This has not been a problem for owners as wrapping the vehicles is a common practice, but some people would likely see more versatility from Tesla in terms of their standard paint colors.

This is especially relevant as Europe has been able to have both Midnight Cherry Red and Quicksilver, which were, at one time, exclusive to the market.

Quicksilver made its way to the United States, and Tesla did release a new Red last year with “Ultra Red,” but Midnight Cherry Red never made its way outside the walls of Gigafactory Berlin.

Last week, as the first spy images of the new Model S and Model X were taken and released by The Kilowatts, there was a very noticeable difference with the vehicle, as other changes seemed to be relatively underwhelming: a new paint color.

Many believed this was simply a wrap, but Ryan Levenson of The Kilowatts, a former Tesla employee, dispelled that rumor after several questions about it.

He said that this is absolutely a factory paint color and not a wrap:

More images were shared by @supergeek18 on X:

Tesla released a new color earlier this year, but it was just a revision to Black, now called “Diamond Black,” featuring speckles that give a reflection and refraction of light as a diamond would.

However, this new color is certainly quite different than anything Tesla has previously offered in the U.S. before. It is relatively similar to Glacier Blue, a color Tesla launched in Asia. Earlier this year, Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s Chief Designer, talked about bringing the color to the U.S.:

“Glacier Blue is just a color that we’ve been talking about with our team — the team is like right through that window by the way — and we were looking at the impact of silver, how do we get pigment into silver and really add a little bit of personality to it. If you look at our palette, you know it was either darks or white, and so we were looking for something in between. Blue is always a fairly popular color.”

It would be a refreshing addition to the options Tesla currently offers, and a breath of fresh air for those who have been wanting a different look altogether.

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