Tesla Model S stolen in video posted by tech executive Antony Kennedy

Antony Kennedy’s stolen
Tesla Model S.
Antony
Kennedy/YouTube

• A senior tech executive has posted a YouTube video of
  his Tesla Model S being stolen
  on Sunday morning.
• The video captures two darkly dressed men stealing the
  car by hacking into the car’s key fob with what appears to be a
  tablet.
• Antony Kennedy made the video after he posted about the theft
  on a Tesla forum and was accused of fabricating the story.

A senior tech executive’s video of his Tesla Model S being stolen
is going viral on YouTube.

Antony Kennedy, a manager at a big tech firm who lives in Essex,
England, bought a Tesla Model S second-hand for £45,000 ($58,000)
about nine months ago.

He told Business Insider that, at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday,
two men stole the car by hacking into the car’s key fob with what
appears to be a tablet.

They did this by capturing its “passive entry” signal, which
automatically unlocks the doors when the car is approached with
the key.

In fact, the thieves had more problems removing the Tesla’s
charging cable than entering the vehicle itself, as footage from
Kennedy’s doorbell camera and mounted security camera shows.

Kennedy verified the footage by providing Business Insider with
paperwork on his Tesla.

Kennedy’s video, including a blow-by-blow account of the
crime, can be seen here:

At the time of writing, the YouTube video has amassed more than
50,000 views. Kennedy said he made the video after he posted
about the theft on a Tesla forum, and was accused of making the
story up.

“I got quite upset and that’s why I made the video… to shut
them up,” he told Business Insider.

Kennedy admits he did not activate Tesla’s PIN to Drive feature,
which could have prevented the theft. He wishes, however, that
disabling remote access on Teslas was harder, as the thieves
disabled the internet connection so neither Kennedy nor Tesla can
now track the car.

Tesla sent Business Insider a statement on how owners can secure
their vehicles. A spokeswoman said:

“Due to the growing number of methods that can be used to steal
many kinds of cars with passive entry systems, not just Teslas,
we’ve rolled out a number of security enhancements to help our
customers decrease the likelihood of unauthorised use of their
vehicles.

“None of these options would be possible for any traditional
automaker – our ability to update software over the air to
improve functionality and security is unique.

“We have issued several over-the-air updates to help protect our
customers from thefts – last year we introduced an update that
allows all customers to turn off passive entry entirely, and this
year we introduced PIN to Drive, which allows customers to set a
unique PIN that needs to be entered before their vehicle is
driven.”

Kennedy reported the incident to Essex Police, but is pessimistic
about ever seeing the car again.

He said that after posting the video on Facebook, another Tesla
owner sent him footage of two men attempting to steal his car in
London a few months ago. Kennedy believes it to be the same
suspects.

Business Insider has contacted Essex Police and The Metropolitan
Police for comment.