A Tesla Model X was set on fire in Düsseldorf earlier this week and the owner believes that the vandal was targeting his car because it is a Tesla.
Dutch Tesla owner Den Dal was on a business trip in Düsseldorf, Germany and plugged his Model X in a public charging station.
When he came back, he found his Model X had been set on fire by one or more arsonists.
On Twitter, he claimed that the vandal targeted his vehicle because it is a Tesla:
“They chose a Tesla out of hundreds of cars. It was on a public charger in the middle of the street. It was not the most obvious choice if you want to do it unnoticed. Maybe they did not like my Dutch license plate. But there were more foreigh cars also from The Netherlands. 1+1=2.”
He shared an image of his Model X after the incident:
Somebody set our families Tesla Model X on fire during a business trip in Düsseldorf, Germany. It was charging overnight on a public charger a few hundred meters from the rented appartment. @bonnienorman @DMC_Ryan @elonmusk Tesla hatred is a real thing. pic.twitter.com/FD09VdkTKi
— Den Dal (@sakiwebo) November 8, 2019
Vandals have targeted Tesla vehicles and Tesla facilities before, like Supercharger stations, but it is difficult to prove that it is the case here.
Many of them are being caught these days thanks to Tesla’s Sentry Mode, which captures actions around Tesla vehicles on video.
However, in this case, Den Dal says that while he activated Sentry Mode, he didn’t have a flash drive to record the incident.
In order for Sentry Mode to work on a Tesla, you need a few accessories. We recommend Jeda’s Model 3 USB hub to be able to still use the other plugs and hide your Sentry Mode drive. For the drive, you can use a flash drive, but for more capacity, we recommend a Samsung portable SSD, which you need to format, but it gives you a ton of capacity, and it can be easily hidden in the Jeda hub.
He also contacted the local police and there were no CCTV camera watching the charging station either.
The damages were significant, but it was apparently still drivable.
Electrek’s Take
I know for a fact that some people hate Tesla and it’s not below them to vandalize cars, but it’s hard to prove that it was the case here.
It is strange that they went after the only Tesla vehicle around, but stranger things have happened before.
The moral of the story is to make sure your Sentry Mode is working. While the alarm will not always prevent the incident to happen in the first place, you at least have a shot at catching the vandals.
Hopefully, he has a smooth experience with his insurance.
Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.