LNG: TESLARATI

For the longest time, Billy Hurin knew that his son’s electric car from Tesla was an excellent vehicle. His son, Chad Hurin, runs Frunk Yea, a Tesla rental service with operations in Southern California and Florida. For years, Chad had been trying to get his dad to buy a Tesla for himself, but the man remained a holdout. He loved the cars, but he was just not ready to commit yet.

Things changed when Billy joined his son on a recent trip to Launch Complex 39A of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, FL to see the first commercial launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy. After witnessing the awe-inspiring flight of the rocket and the synchronized landing of its two side boosters, the longtime Tesla holdout decided that the time was finally right. In a shuttle back from the event, Billy went over to Tesla’s website and ordered a white Model X 100D with white interior and six seats.

In a comment to Teslarati, Chad Hurin noted that it was the entire experience that really sealed the deal for his dad. Apart from the awe inspired by the massive rocket’s launch, the electric car rental service owner stated that his dad’s firsthand interactions with members of the Tesla community may have influenced his decision to purchase a Model X. The Tesla community is a close-knit group, and this was particularly true for owners who attended the Falcon Heavy launch.

Tesla owners were invited to the SpaceX event as a reward from the company’s previous referral programs. The Falcon Heavy launch invitation was one of the “secret levels” offered by Tesla, and it involved having an owner inviting a guest of their choosing to witness the historic Falcon Heavy flight. Chad Hurin was among these owners, and so were other active Tesla community members. A number of social media influencers were at the event as well.

Perhaps what is quite remarkable with Billy Hurin’s story is proof that Elon Musk’s private space firm and his electric car company could work together to inspire people. The now-Model X owner always knew that Teslas were great cars, but it took an experience with SpaceX that ultimately encouraged him to pull the trigger. Poking fun at the circumstances, Chad joked that after failing for years, he might have found the perfect way to sell Teslas. “I guess we’re not good enough salesmen. We’ve literally tried to tell him what’s up for the past 2 yrs. How to close deals on Tesla: Invite them to (a) SpaceX launch,” he wrote.

What is rather interesting is that both SpaceX and Tesla are companies that Elon Musk founded with a larger mission in mind. SpaceX exists to make it possible for humans to be a multiplanetary species. Tesla exists to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. While both companies are still taking the first steps towards their respective goals, they are already, even at their current state, establishments that truly inspire people.

A former traffic court judge currently in the running for a seat on the Philadelphia City Council was caught hitting a parked Tesla Model 3 and subsequently leaving the scene without reporting the incident. A video captured of the event using the Model 3’s Sentry Mode feature was published by the vehicle’s owner on YouTube.

Judge Willie Singletary is seen backing out his Cadillac Escalade into the Tesla Model 3 parked next to him in the video, triggering the car’s alarm. Singletary then exits his SUV and appears to assess the damage caused to the all-electric sedan and even attempts to buff out the apparently visible marks at the point of impact. The affected part of the Model 3 isn’t visible in the video, but given the drawn-out contemplation and multiple attempts to smooth out the damage by Singletary, a police report or (at minimum) note to the owner was definitely warranted.

UPDATE: The owner of the Model 3 contacted Teslarati and provided additional details regarding the outcome of the incident. Singletary was easily identified thanks to the owner’s prior work on local elections and his contact information was available from campaign filings. The owner subsequently reached out to Singletary regarding the hit, which he says the former judge first denied but provided insurance information once made aware the event was on video. The police were then brought in to handle the matter further. The Escalade Singletary was driving in the video was a rental car. Additionally, the estimate for repair of the Model 3 provided to the owner by a Tesla certified body shop was $2000.

Tesla Model 3 captures a hit-and-run incident with Sentry Mode. | Credit: emeraldik/YouTube

Tesla Model 3 captures a hit-and-run incident with Sentry Mode. | Credit: emeraldik/YouTube

Tesla Model 3 captures a hit-and-run incident with Sentry Mode. | Credit: emeraldik/YouTube

Tesla Model 3 captures a hit-and-run incident with Sentry Mode. | Credit: emeraldik/YouTube

Tesla Model 3 captures a hit-and-run incident with Sentry Mode. | Credit: emeraldik/YouTube

The Model 3 hit-and-run incident isn’t the first time Singletary has run afoul of the law, adding to the irony of his prior position as a Philadelphia Traffic Court judge. In 2015, the City Council hopeful was sentenced to 20 months in prison, followed by a year of supervised release, after being convicted of lying to the FBI in a ticket-fixing scheme investigation while serving as a judge. Singletary appealed the sentence as beyond the advisory range of 0-6 months for such convictions, but a federal judge resentenced him, citing the highly pervasive nature of the scheme. The judge claimed the corruption was so extreme, the Traffic Court was disbanded in the fall-out, thus the longer sentence was deserved.

Singletary, for his part, denied that the Traffic Court’s closure was related to his role, noting that he and all the other court judges were not convicted of corruption, only lying to the FBI, which he argued is a position the agency can easily manipulate into occurring. The state attorneys involved in the original case regarding the ticket-fixing responded to the appeal, citing witness testimony establishing Singletary’s participation in the scheme and noting the difficulty faced by the government to obtain convictions for fraud even in the face of significant evidence.

Given former Judge Willie Singletary’s colorful history with vehicle violations, this latest encounter with a Tesla Model 3’s Sentry Mode is likely not going to bode well for his City Council ambitions.

Tesla may be leading the charge in the electric vehicle revolution, but perhaps it’s about to take the lead in vehicle security solutions as well. Sentry Mode was created to address vehicle break-ins that appeared to target Tesla owners specifically, especially in California’s Bay Area, and the security advantages it’s providing are already proving the feature was well worth the effort it took to create.

Sentry Mode is a security feature available on all Tesla models and was recently launched via over-the-air updates to improve and complement existing vehicle security features and options such as GPS tracking and the Enhanced Anti-Theft Device cabin motion sensor. Once activated, the Tesla owner is alerted via the company’s mobile app, video footage is recorded, and in the event of an intrusion, Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor is played at full volume to draw attention to the car. Once the vehicle’s “Alarm” state is entered following a detected incident, a video beginning 10 minutes prior to the event can be downloaded by the owner. Should Willie Singletary have been aware of this Tesla feature, perhaps his choice of action after backing into the Model 3 would have been different.

Watch the full Sentry Mode recorded hit-and-run incident below:

A Tesla Model X recently stole the show at Jaden Smith’s performance in the 2019 Coachella Music Festival in Indio, CA on Friday. The rapper-artist decided to include some flourish on his set by performing on top of the all-electric SUV while the vehicle was suspended in the air.

Smith performed several of his songs in his Coachella appearance, among them Summertime (an unreleased song) and Icon, a rap track that heavily featured a Tesla Model X, Falcon Wing Doors up, in its official music video. The rapper’s performance was augmented by the appearance of some big names in the music-entertainment industry, including his sister, Willow Smith, and Jordyn Woods. Smith’s performance also paid tribute to slain rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was laid to rest in Los Angeles just hours before the Coachella performance.

Based on images and videos of Smith’s set, the Tesla Model X’s dashboard appears to have been modified specifically for the performance. The Model X’s panoramic windshield, for one, was taken off, allowing Smith to stand on the vehicle’s dashboard. A stagehand joined Smith in the Model X, sitting on the white second-row seats while the performance was ongoing.

The Tesla Model X might still be polarizing for some die-hard gearheads, but the all-electric SUV is already becoming the “must-have” vehicle of choice for many of the entertainment and music industry’s elite. Apart from Smith’s prominent use of the Model X as a prop in his music videos (and now his Coachella performance), the vehicle, as well as its sedan sibling, the Model S, has been spotted being driven by big names such as Kanye West and the Black Eyed Peas’ Will.I.Am. Other celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, George R.R. Martin, Jay-Z, Harrison Ford, and Lionel Richie have also been sighted over the years driving a Tesla.

Teslas are marketed as premium electric cars, but its vehicles like the Model S and Modle X have been performing well in the luxury segment. Among the reasons behind this is Tesla’s deep integration of software and hardware on his vehicles, which offer customers an ownership experience that is quite unlike anything in the market today.  As described by iconic and eccentric rapper Kanye West, driving a Tesla makes it seem like one is “in the future.”

Watch Jaden Smith perform two of his songs with a Model X overhead in the video below.