Tesla's Surround Dashcam Feature Save Driver From Hit and Run Scam

Tesla Inc's TSLA sentry mode has been helpful in many cases, usually when the owner comes back to their vehicle and finds damage done while they were gone. But this time the owner was present when sentry mode came in handy.

A story shared by Teslarati shows a video of the moment a con artist tries to fake being hit by a Tesla. The video shows a man, Arthur Bates Jr., behind a Tesla Model 3 that seems to tap his leg against the back bumper and fall to the ground, as if pretending he was hit by the car. The car's owner gets out and pushes the man's leg off of his car before driving away.

Bates called 911 claiming he was hit by a Tesla Model 3 in a gas station parking lot. The Slidell Police responded to the call, and an ambulance and fire truck were dispatched because he complained of back, leg and neck injuries.

When police caught up with the Model 3 owner to question him, he simply showed the recorded video to police, thanks to Tesla's sentry mode. “Unbeknownst to Bates, Tesla's record all the footage of their cameras. When Slidell Police officers reviewed the Tesla’s video footage, it became apparent that Bates was lying and staged the entire event,” the Slidell Police Department said.

Bates ended up being arrested for “false swearing with the intent to Cause and Emergency Response,” under L.R.S 14:126.1. 

Benzinga's Take: Tesla's sentry cam and dashcam built-in recording seem incredibly useful. If an owner honks the horn, it will automatically save the last 10 minutes of footage. In this case, it saved the owner from a huge headache having to argue about what actually happened at the scene. Police were able to simply watch the video and see the truth for themselves. 

Photo: Courtesy of Tesla Inc.