A stolen Tesla has been returned to a B.C. couple after police managed to track down an alleged thief with the help of the vehicle's corresponding smartphone app.
The electric vehicle was stolen last Thursday in Vancouver, but the owners, Katya and Cary Pinkowski, were able to track its movements with the Tesla Motors app.
"I look at the app and it's going 70 kilometres an hour in Richmond, and I was like, 'Oh my God some guy has stolen the car," Cary Pinkowski told CTV Vancouver.
That's when Cary Pinkowski reported the vehicle stolen to police and gave Mounties a play-by-play of its movements.
"It was a lot of fun actually. I knew this guy was going to get busted," said Cary Pinkowski.
Police first tailed the car to central Richmond, then north on No. 3 road, then east on River road, until officers finally stopped the 24-year-old driver on No. 5 road shortly after 11 p.m.
"It was eye-opening from our perspective to see that kind of accuracy in a commercial product," said Richmond RCMP Corp. Dennis Hwang.
The alleged carjacker is now facing serious charges.
The couple believe the incident demonstrates the utility of Tesla's technology.
"I really believe it's the way of the future, where almost all cars will be tracked like this," said Cary Pinkowski.
"You have to be the stupidest thief in Canada to take a Tesla and go," added Katya Pinkowski.
With a report from CTV Vancouver's Scott Hurst
