A Tesla owner in Woodland Hills tracked his own stolen vehicle in real time, followed it down the 101 freeway with his high beams flashing, and helped Los Angeles police catch the man accused of taking it. The car was reportedly stolen by a tow truck driver, and police arrested a suspect early Thursday after stopping the truck near Sepulveda and Burbank boulevards in Van Nuys.
According to KTLA, the Tesla was taken from the Woodland Hills area around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, though authorities have not released details about exactly how it was initially taken. The owner used his phone to track the vehicle's live location and called 911, relaying the coordinates to authorities as the tow truck carrying his car moved southbound on the 101 freeway, per the outlet's reporting, which has not been independently confirmed by police.
Owner Followed the Truck With High Beams On
Rather than wait for police to catch up on their own, the owner reportedly followed the tow truck himself, flashing his high beams to signal he was directly behind the suspected thief. That real-time tracking, relayed to dispatchers, allowed a police helicopter to join the search from above and helped the air unit pinpoint the tow truck's location for ground units, the station's report states.
Officers eventually stopped the driver near Sepulveda and Burbank boulevards in Van Nuys, and a suspect was arrested after the stop. The owner stayed at the scene afterward to assist investigators. Police have not released the suspect's identity, and it was not immediately clear what charges the man might face.
Why Thieves Tow Rather Than Drive Away
Tesla vehicles include built-in GPS tracking through the automaker's mobile app, letting owners watch a car's real-time coordinates and relay turn-by-turn location data directly to emergency dispatchers, according to Green Car Reports. Teslas also come equipped with a PIN to Drive feature that requires a four-digit code entered on the touchscreen before the car can be shifted out of Park, which can block a thief from simply driving off even with a key or relayed fob signal, per a discussion on Reddit. That security hurdle may explain why a tow truck, rather than a getaway drive, has become a preferred method for hauling off high-end vehicles like Teslas.
The LAPD Air Support Division, which flies out of the downtown Hooper Heliport, routinely patrols the 101 freeway corridor through the San Fernando Valley and coordinates directly with ground units during pursuits and tracking operations, according to information compiled on RadioReference. That existing infrastructure likely made it easier for officers to act quickly once the owner's tracking data came in.
A Pattern of Bandit Tows in the Valley
Unauthorized tow operations, sometimes called bandit tows, have been a recurring problem in the San Fernando Valley. In July 2025, LAPD and California Highway Patrol officials recovered more than 140 illegally impounded vehicles during a search warrant execution in Van Nuys, warning residents about operators who haul away cars without permission and then demand inflated storage fees, as reported by CBS News. During a briefing tied to that operation, LAPD detectives said at the time that taking a vehicle overnight via an unauthorized tow truck, without the owner's consent or valid legal impound authority, can be formally charged as felony grand theft auto.
A separate investigation in January found a broader trend across Southern California of thieves using unmarked tow trucks late at night to haul vehicles straight out of driveways and parking lots, according to the Los Angeles Times. Under California Penal Code 487(d)(1), grand theft auto covers taking a vehicle worth more than $950 with intent to permanently deprive the owner of it, carrying potential felony penalties of 16 months, two years, or three years in state prison. Separately, California Vehicle Code Section 22658 requires private property owners or tow operators to obtain explicit written authorization, or ensure compliant warning signs are posted, before removing a vehicle, meaning unauthorized towing can trigger both criminal liability and civil penalties equal to double the storage fees charged.
It remains unclear whether the driver arrested in Van Nuys was acting alone or was connected to a broader illegal towing operation, and police have not said what specific charges he may ultimately face. The case echoes a similar incident Tow-Job Caper Trashes Stolen Porsche in North Hollywood last month, when a suspect also attempted to haul away a luxury vehicle using a truck in the Valley.
