What Have I Done

Pickup Truck Driver Turns Himself In After Vandalizing Tesla

This is why you don't mess with a Tesla.
Victor Tangermann Avatar
20 year-old Austin Grabas from Edmonton, Alberta turned himself in after vandalizing a Tesla Model 3 by keying it in a parking lot last week.
Image: Andrew Batiuk via YouTube

Keying Teslas

Yet another perpetrator has turned himself in after vandalizing a Tesla vehicle.

20 year-old pickup truck driver Austin Grabas, from Canada, keyed a Tesla Model 3 that belonged to a news editor in a parking lot last week — but after the video taken by the electric car’s cameras went viral, Grabas decided to admit to his crime.

“Immediately I regretted it,” Grabas told Global News — the same news network the Tesla owner works for. “I’m just disappointed in myself right now.”

Immediate Regret

Grabas says he’s willing to pay for the repairs, which are estimated to cost around $1,600.

The Model 3 had Sentry Mode turned on — a feature that turns on all on-board cameras and sets them to record the area around the vehicle while it is parked.

It’s not the first time the system has busted a vandal. A video of a 57-year-old woman keying a different Model 3 in a Colorado suburb went viral earlier this month, causing her to turn herself in as well.

READ MORE: Tesla vandal turns himself in after seeing Sentry Mode video online [Electrek]

More on Tesla vandalism: “Famous” Tesla Vandal Caught by Sentry Mode Turns Herself In

I’m a senior editor at Futurism, where I edit and write about NASA and the private space sector, as well as topics ranging from SETI and artificial intelligence to tech and medical policy.