TeslaCam, Tesla’s integrated dashcam system using Autopilot cameras, has captured an armed carjacking attempt during which the carjacker fired a shot into a Model 3 electric car.
Draper Younce, a Navy sailor and Tesla Model 3 owner, was sitting in his car in Jacksonville, Florida, waiting to pick up a friend when an armed and masked man approached his vehicle, pointed a gun at him, and asked him to get out.
Younce instead ducked for cover and accelerated.
The carjacker fired a shot that narrowly missed Younce and lodged itself in the B-pillar of the Model 3.
After turning a corner, Younce decided to activate the car’s TeslaCam, which saves that last minute of footage captured from several cameras around the vehicle.
He shared the chilling footage on Twitter:
In the footage, you can see the carjacker attempting to open the door, but he doesn’t seem to know how the Model 3 door handles work.
In his account of the incident, Younce says that’s when he knew to try to get away:
First thing I noticed is how he reached for the Door. With flush doors, Tesla handles are a bit tricky to figure out the first time.
The assailant is holding his gun is his right hand, he reaches for the door, and when he completely air balls the handle, he looks down for a split second. Muzzle of the gun generally follows the eyes and the gun, for a split second, was pointed away from my face.
I took action. I stepped on the accelerator as hard as I could, tucked and leaned over to the right, grabbed the steering wheel and turned it away, and I was gone.
He then fires a shot that hits the B-pillar and rear door trim of the Model 3:
The man was masked, but his face is still partly visible in the video.
Younce is raising money to offer a reward for information that can lead to the arrest of the carjacker.
Tesla’s Sentry Mode and TeslaCam have helped police make several arrests over the last few years since the features have been released.
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