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Tesla Sentry Mode captures politician in Model 3 hit-and-run

Tesla Model 3 captures a hit-and-run incident with Sentry Mode. | Credit: emeraldik/YouTube

Published

6 years ago

on

A former traffic court judge currently in the running for a seat on the Philadelphia City Council was caught hitting a parked Tesla Model 3 and subsequently leaving the scene without reporting the incident. A video captured of the event using the Model 3’s Sentry Mode feature was published by the vehicle’s owner on YouTube.

Judge Willie Singletary is seen backing out his Cadillac Escalade into the Tesla Model 3 parked next to him in the video, triggering the car’s alarm. Singletary then exits his SUV and appears to assess the damage caused to the all-electric sedan and even attempts to buff out the apparently visible marks at the point of impact. The affected part of the Model 3 isn’t visible in the video, but given the drawn-out contemplation and multiple attempts to smooth out the damage by Singletary, a police report or (at minimum) note to the owner was definitely warranted.

UPDATE: The owner of the Model 3 contacted Teslarati and provided additional details regarding the outcome of the incident. Singletary was easily identified thanks to the owner’s prior work on local elections and his contact information was available from campaign filings. The owner subsequently reached out to Singletary regarding the hit, which he says the former judge first denied but provided insurance information once made aware the event was on video. The police were then brought in to handle the matter further. The Escalade Singletary was driving in the video was a rental car. Additionally, the estimate for repair of the Model 3 provided to the owner by a Tesla certified body shop was $2000.

The Model 3 hit-and-run incident isn’t the first time Singletary has run afoul of the law, adding to the irony of his prior position as a Philadelphia Traffic Court judge. In 2015, the City Council hopeful was sentenced to 20 months in prison, followed by a year of supervised release, after being convicted of lying to the FBI in a ticket-fixing scheme investigation while serving as a judge. Singletary appealed the sentence as beyond the advisory range of 0-6 months for such convictions, but a federal judge resentenced him, citing the highly pervasive nature of the scheme. The judge claimed the corruption was so extreme, the Traffic Court was disbanded in the fall-out, thus the longer sentence was deserved.

Singletary, for his part, denied that the Traffic Court’s closure was related to his role, noting that he and all the other court judges were not convicted of corruption, only lying to the FBI, which he argued is a position the agency can easily manipulate into occurring. The state attorneys involved in the original case regarding the ticket-fixing responded to the appeal, citing witness testimony establishing Singletary’s participation in the scheme and noting the difficulty faced by the government to obtain convictions for fraud even in the face of significant evidence.

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Given former Judge Willie Singletary’s colorful history with vehicle violations, this latest encounter with a Tesla Model 3’s Sentry Mode is likely not going to bode well for his City Council ambitions.

Tesla may be leading the charge in the electric vehicle revolution, but perhaps it’s about to take the lead in vehicle security solutions as well. Sentry Mode was created to address vehicle break-ins that appeared to target Tesla owners specifically, especially in California’s Bay Area, and the security advantages it’s providing are already proving the feature was well worth the effort it took to create.

Sentry Mode is a security feature available on all Tesla models and was recently launched via over-the-air updates to improve and complement existing vehicle security features and options such as GPS tracking and the Enhanced Anti-Theft Device cabin motion sensor. Once activated, the Tesla owner is alerted via the company’s mobile app, video footage is recorded, and in the event of an intrusion, Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor is played at full volume to draw attention to the car. Once the vehicle’s “Alarm” state is entered following a detected incident, a video beginning 10 minutes prior to the event can be downloaded by the owner. Should Willie Singletary have been aware of this Tesla feature, perhaps his choice of action after backing into the Model 3 would have been different.

Watch the full Sentry Mode recorded hit-and-run incident below:

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Accidental computer geek, fascinated by most history and the multiplanetary future on its way. Quite keen on the democratization of space. | It's pronounced day-sha, but I answer to almost any variation thereof.

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Lifestyle

Elon Musk seemingly confirms Cybertruck gift to 13-year-old cancer fighter

Diagnosed in 2018 with a rare form of brain and spine cancer with no cure, the teen has undergone 13 surgeries by the time he was 12.

Published

2 months ago

on

March 6, 2025

By

Credit: Tesla

Elon Musk has seemingly confirmed that he will be sending a Tesla Cybertruck to 13-year-old Devarjaye “DJ” Daniel, a 13-year-old Houston boy fighting brain cancer. The teen was recognized as an honorary Secret Service member by U.S. President Donald Trump during his address to Congress on Tuesday. 

A Chance Meeting

The Tesla CEO’s Cybertruck pledge was mentioned during DJ’s short interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. When Collins asked the 13-year-old what he told the Tesla CEO, DJ answered that he asked for a Cybertruck.

“I said, ‘can you do me a big favor, when you get back to Houston can you send us a Cybertruck down there?’” the cancer fighter stated.

Daniel noted that Musk responded positively to his request, which was highlighted by Collins in a post on X. Musk responded to the post with a heart emoji, suggesting that he really will be sending a Cybertruck to the 13-year-old cancer fighter.

Teen’s Cancer Battle Inspires

Diagnosed in 2018 with a rare form of brain and spine cancer with no cure, Daniel has undergone 13 surgeries by the time he was 12. During his speech, Trump highlighted the 13-year-old’s long battle with his disease. 

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“Joining us in the gallery tonight is a young man who truly loves our police. The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago. Since that time, DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true,” Trump stated.

Daniels officially received an honorary badge from U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran, to much applause during the event.

Surprisingly Partisan

While Daniels’ story has been inspiring, Trump’s focus on the 13-year-old cancer fighter has received its own fair share of criticism. MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace, while referencing Daniels’ love for law enforcement, noted that she is hoping the 13-year-old never has to defend the U.S. capitol against Trump supporters. “If he does, I hope he isn’t one of the six who loses his life to suicide,” Wallace stated.

Anti-Musk and Trump accounts on X have also thrown jokes at the cancer fighter’s honorary badge, with some dubbing the 13-year-old as a “DEI hire” that should be looked into by DOGE.

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Tesla owner highlights underrated benefit of FSD Supervised

Published

3 months ago

on

January 31, 2025

By

Credit: Tesla

Elon Musk has been pretty open about the idea of FSD being the difference maker for Tesla’s future.

If Tesla succeeds in achieving FSD, it could become the world’s most valuable company. If it doesn’t, then the company would not be able to reach its optimum potential.

FSD Supervised’s safety benefits:

  • But even if FSD is still not perfect today, FSD Supervised is already making a difference on the roads today.
  • This was highlighted in Tesla’s Q4 2024 Vehicle Safety Report.
  • As per Tesla, it recorded one crash for every 5.94 million miles driven in which drivers were using Autopilot technology.
  • For comparison, the most recent data available from the NHTSA and FHWA (from 2023) showed that there was one automobile crash every 702,000 miles in the United States. 

FSD user’s tale:

  • As per an FSD user’s post on social media platform X, FSD Supervised was able to help him drive a relative to a medical facility safely even if he was exhausted.
  • During the trip, the driver only had to monitor FSD Supervised’s performance to make sure the Tesla operated safely.
  • In a vehicle without FSD, such a trip with an exhausted driver would have been quite dangerous. 
  • “This morning, Tesla FSD proved to be an absolute godsend. I had to take my brother-in-law to the hospital in Sugar Land, TX, which is 40 miles away, at the ungodly hour of 4 AM. Both of us were exhausted, and he was understandably anxious about the surgery.
  • “The convenience of sending the hospital’s address directly from my iPhone to my Tesla while still inside my house, then just a single button press once inside, and 40 miles later we were precisely in front of the hospital’s admissions area.This experience really underscores just how transformative this technology can be for society,” Tesla owner JC Christopher noted in his post.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

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Tesla Optimus “stars” in incredible fanmade action short film

Published

3 months ago

on

January 14, 2025

By

Credit: @SoKrispyMedia/YouTube

There are few things that prove an enthusiast’s love towards a company more than a dedicated short film. This was highlighted recently when YouTube’s SoKrispyMedia posted a 10-minute action movie starring Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot, as well as several of the company’s most iconic products. 

The video: 

  • Shot like a Hollywood action flick, the video featured a rather humorous plot involving a group of thieves that mistakenly targeted a Tesla Model 3 driver. 
  • The Model 3 driver then ended up speaking to Tesla for assistance, and some high-octane and high-speed hijinks ensued.
  • While the short film featured several Tesla products like the Model 3, Superchargers, and the Cybertruck, it is Optimus that truly stole the show.
  • Optimus served several roles in the short film, from an assistant in a Tesla office to a “robocop” enforcer that helped out the Model 3 driver.

Cool inside jokes: 

  • The best Tesla videos are those that show an in-depth knowledge of the company, and SoKrispyMedia definitely had it. 
  • From the opening scenes alone, the video immediately poked fun at TSLA traders, the large number of gray Tesla owners, and the fact that many still do not understand Superchargers.
  • The video even poked fun at Tesla’s software updates, as well as how some Tesla drivers use Autopilot or other features without reading the fine print in the company’s release notes.
  • The video ended with a tour de force of references to Elon Musk products, from the Tesla Cybertruck to the Boring Company Not-a-Flamethrower, which was released back in 2018.

Check out SoKrispyMedia’s Tesla action short film in the video below.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

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