A key was the weapon of choice for an elderly woman in Louisiana to cause damage to a Tesla after a dispute over a parking spot that was caught on the car’s cameras.
The unidentified senior citizen used her keys to scratch the Tesla, causing damage worth nearly $8,000, according to the car’s owner.
The incident occurred before 10am on 22 September in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
In the footage, Tesla owner Amanda Aubin is seen parking at an empty spot near a clinic in Baton Rouge, while being followed by a red vehicle.
A woman who was driving the red vehicle, and whose face was covered with a black mask, stops and exits her car after Ms Aubin parks.
She is then seen walking beside the Tesla and scratching it with a key.
Ms Aubin’s Tesla was in “Sentry Mode”, a security feature that monitors suspicious activity when the car is parked and alerts its owner.
The elderly woman from the red vehicle was seen in the footage keying the vehicle thrice.
Ms Aubin had an annual follow-up for inflammatory arthritis that day.
She told news channel WAFB9 that “it was like a normal day, I pulled into a parking space. You know, we (her and red car) both signalled, and I got there first, it looks like. And I just pulled in, and she parked in another spot. So, I was like, okay no issue.”
When Ms Aubin returned from the clinic, she found scratches on her Tesla.
A Tesla car, when in Sentry Mode, can start recording video using cameras fitted around it. In this case, the actions of the woman in the red vehicle were filmed by Ms Aubin’s Tesla from many of the car’s cameras, with footage of the scratching recorded from the car’s dashcam.
She assumes the other woman was most likely upset she took the parking spot.
“It’s petty and childish,” Ms Aubin said. “I mean, this is coming from a grown woman. I’m a grown woman. This is ridiculous. I mean, she could’ve just left me a note, if she was that angry at me.”
The Tesla was left with several scratches and “pretty deep cuts.” Ms Aubin claimed repair work on the car will cost her $7,650. She has since filed a police report, and says that one of the Tesla’s cameras recorded the licence plate of the red vehicle, whose owner is yet to be identified by name.
“Keying someone’s car, that’s crazy. I think she didn’t know she was being recorded. But that’s all being turned over to the cops,” Ms Aubin said.
“Don’t mess with a Tesla,” remarked Ms Aubin.
In July, another Tesla in Sentry Mode captured a Volkswagen driver vandalising the vehicle in Florida.
The vehicle had captured the man’s face and the owner, Melissa Mel, later posted a video on her social media and said: “I am trying to get this guy’s face out there for doing a criminal act to my car on 4 July while I was at work. This shouldn’t be a ‘thing’ to damage someone’s car.”
