It turns out that Elon Musk's cars are perfect surveillance devices for cops.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/24704051

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that police in Oakland, California, and other places, have been obtaining warrants that allow them to tow Teslas that may have been parked within close proximity to local crimes. In many cases, police will get the driver’s permission before they access the data inside the vehicles. However, on rare occasions, when police feel the information needs to be gotten quickly, they will simply use a court-ordered warrant to tow the vehicle and empty it of its necessary evidence.

The Chronicle reports that the warrant-and-tow method has been used by Oakland police in at least three instances over the past two months. The cars’ external cameras, paired with its sophisticated network of sensors, can prove particularly helpful in solving cases. In one recent case in the city, a woman was shot and killed after a group of men pulled guns on one another and began shooting. Police took advantage of video recorded by a nearby Tesla to aid their investigation. Ultimately, two men were arrested several weeks later and charged with murder, the newspaper reports.

  • subignition@fedia.io
    91·
    15 days ago

    According to the article, they’re

    obtaining warrants to tow the cars to ensure they don’t lose the video

    Therriault said he and other officers now frequently seek video from bystander Teslas, and usually get the owners’ consent to download it without having to serve a warrant. Still, he said, tows are sometimes necessary, if police can’t locate a Tesla owner and need the video “to pursue all leads.”

    It looks like the seizure and the search have to be warranted separately:

    “Based on this information,” Godchaux wrote, “I respectfully request that a warrant is authorized to seize this vehicle from the La Quinta Inn parking lot so this vehicle’s surveillance footage may be searched via an additional search warrant at a secure location.”