Image credit: Jules Boag
New South Wales police are investigating video evidence that appears to show the side mirror and front windscreen of a Tesla Model S being smashed with a skateboard while parked in an undercover car park, in Albury.
Art exhibition coordinator Jules Boag shared the shocking video captured by his Tesla Model S, which had Sentry Mode activated at the time.
“It’s the first time I had got a text message from Sentry Mode,” Boag tells The Driven, describing what he saw in the video as “very strange”.
Boag, who has owned his Model S since May, says he bought it because he drives long distances and has driven 38,000 kilometres in it since he bought it.
Posted on social media channel Twitter, the video has gone viral and at the time of writing has been viewed by more than 21,000 people.
“So a random guy just smashed the windscreen on my @tesla in #albury I guess he don’t know about sentry mode,” wrote Boag on Twitter.
Sentry Mode uses the Tesla vehicle’s in-built cameras as a security mechanism, to record any nearby incidents, theft attempts or vandalism attacks.
After reviewing the footage, Boag discovered the extensive damage (shown in the image above) appeared to have been caused by the skateboard carried by the person captured in the video.
“When I saw this I thought what the hell could do that. Thanks to #tesla #sentrymode it turns out a skateboard wheel is pretty effective!” Boag wrote.
While the reasons behind the savage attack on Boag’s Tesla have not yet been established, incidents like these have been seen to happen due to some people’s perceived dislike of electric cars.
Boag admits on Twitter he cannot be sure if his car was targeted because it is a Tesla, or just the “closest car”.
The incident has been reported the incident to police who are using the footage to help identify the assailant.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.
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