Tesla is known as a giant mobile surveillance device, equipped with cameras and sensors that can capture a huge amount of information about what is happening around it. In recent years, police have been using the vast amount of data from EVs to help with investigations. In fact, So Once they became accustomed to having vehicles in their custody, they began to effectively steal the vehicles (at least temporarily) in order to obtain digital evidence inside.
Police in Oakland, California and other cities have obtained warrants that allow them to tow Teslas that may be parked near local crime scenes, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. In many cases, police get the driver’s permission before accessing data inside the car. But in rare cases, if police feel they need to get information quickly, they may use a court-ordered warrant to tow the vehicle and remove any evidence they need from it.
According to the Chronicle, Oakland police have employed the warrant-and-tow tactic at least three times in the past two months. Vehicle exterior cameras, combined with advanced sensor networks, have proven particularly useful in solving cases. In one recent incident in the city, a woman was shot and killed after several men pointed guns at each other and began shooting. To help with the investigation, police used video recorded by a nearby Tesla. Two men were ultimately arrested and charged with murder a few weeks later, the Chronicle reported.
In a world where nearly everything is a computer, it makes sense that police will treat your car like any other internet-connected device and seize its contents in much the same way they recover the contents of your social media accounts.
Gizmodo reached out to Oakland Police for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
The privacy threats of Elon Musk’s car have been clear for some time. A few years ago, China banned Teslas from being near certain government agencies and employees, fearing the cars could extract sensitive data and send it to the US. Last year, it was revealed that Tesla employees were watching users’ private videos and sharing them for their own entertainment. The cars have also been used to apprehend people involved in a variety of crimes, from theft to hate crimes and road rage incidents.
