TheTesla Model 3 , the much - anticipated $ 35,000 - starting priced electric   car from the Elon Musk - owned troupe , is   a thoroughly modern , decently - reviewedcar that ’s flex out to be reasonably pop in the US . In fact , harmonise toThe Drive , an self-propelling news and recap land site , one of them was stolen at the Mall of America in Bloomington , Minnesota latterly , and not through conventional mean value .

The publication report that the car was steal through some client support slickness . Phoning Tesla ’s client support , he somehow wield to get the model vehicle ’s unequalled vehicle designation bit ( VIN ) send out to his own smartphone . Once he did so , he could unlock it and drive it away , no headstone required .

disenable GPS trailing on the car , it ab initio await as if the thief had got out with his sneak offense . However , the savvy owner of the Tesla handle to follow the car ’s location through itsSuperchargingpoints , which was pass over to self-confidence . finally , the machine and culprit were feel in Waco , Texas , around 1,600 kilometers ( 1,000 mile ) from the start point .

This was n’t a smartphone hack , remember . This was all thanks to the fact that the stealer managed to get his helping hand on the VIN , which is a PIN for your Tesla . This 17 - fingerbreadth - long code tell people who cook up the auto , what make and body eccentric it has , what barrage fire type it stop , where it was made , and so on .

The VIN can be find on a range of places , including within the car . The original window sticker apparently displays it , as does the metal plate on the elan , which according to thissiteis visible from the outside of the car , via the bottom of the window on the drivers ’ side .

With that in mind , the theft makes more sense . Chat on the meeting place ofY Combinatorsuggests the thief time this VIN , which he then used to identify himself as the possible possessor of the railcar via customer service . Using hisnow - authenticated smartphone , he unlock the Model 3 using Bluetooth and drive forth .

At least , that ’s the cerebration . Specific details are n’t available at this dot , but it seems like this is a plausible explanation . It also suggests that perhaps the VIN should n’t be quite so visible from outside of the car . This emphatically was n’t a computer nag that puts every Tesla Model 3 owner at risk , but there should be some raised eyebrows at Tesla for what seemed like a astonishingly easy break .