It’s unusual to hear about a rash of thefts involving Tesla vehicles—they’re not Hondas after all—but a group of thieves in the Netherlands have managed to steal nearly a dozen of the luxury cars, according to Electrek, and no one’s sure why just yet.
Whatever’s happening, reports suggest it’s part of an intricate operation—or it’s simply being handled by thieves who know their shit. The Dutch news site nrc.nl reports that “at least eleven” Tesla vehicles have been recently stolen in the country.
Once they’re lifted, local police reportedly said that the vehicles are dismantled within a couple hours of being purloined. How they’re managing to pull it off is left to speculation, for now. The news site said the most plausible theory is the use of a relay device that can connect to the key and unlock the car door. One Tesla owner reportedly captured a man on film “lingering” around his vehicle with a laptop, before driving away with it.
Jon McNeill, Tesla’s president of sales and service, told nrc.nl that the “method used by the thieves is also used to steal other cars,” but didn’t elaborate.
The new site initially said Tesla’s considering a software update to address the thefts, but Electrek—where we caught wind of the story—said it’s being told that Tesla’s not pushing one yet, “but it is developing a software fix.”
If it’s a common tactic used for other cars, as McNeill suggests, then maybe the bandits have a new way of dealing with the high-powered GPS features Tesla has equipped. I’d be interested to see what it takes for them to lift and dismantle one in under two hours, though.