The Wiretap: Cops Tracked A Tesla Arsonist Using His Own Car's Wi-Fi

Forbes

01-04-2025

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When an unknown individual shot and threw molotov cocktails at a number of Teslas at one of the electric car maker's centers in Las Vegas this March, investigators used a number of surveillance techniques to locate and eventually charge a suspect with domestic terrorism.
While establishing the suspect getaway vehicle's direction of travel using surveillance cameras and license plate readers, law enforcement acquired records from telecom companies running cell towers along the vehicle's route to and from the Tesla garage. Typically used to get information on all mobile phones connecting to towers in the vicinity of a crime, these 'tower dumps' have long been controversial.
In this case, cops used the tower dumps to track not only the suspect's phone but also the vehicle. Detectives asked Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T to send information on all connecting devices to six relevant towers. They saw a Verizon BlueLink onboard Wi-Fi system had pinged two of the towers. According to a complaint against the eventual suspect - 36-year-old Paul Hyon Kim - investigators believe the BlueLink was inside his Hyundai.
It's a rare case of a vehicle being tracked via a tower dump, just a matter of weeks after one judge in Mississippi declared that the surveillance technique was unconstitutional. That ruling has since been appealed by the Justice Department, according to Court Watch, an independent publication focused on finding stories in federal court records.
The investigation into Kim shows how the Trump administration's Justice Department is continuing to use such surveillance to track down those venting their fury at Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk. Since Musk undertook a massive restructuring of America's civil service via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), activists and vandals launched a wave of attacks against his electric car company.
'The Department of Justice has been clear: anyone who participates in the wave of domestic terrorism targeting Tesla properties will suffer severe legal consequences,' said Attorney General Pam Bondi, announcing the charges against Kim last week. 'We will continue to find, arrest, and prosecute these attackers until the lesson is learned.'
Anti-Musk sentiment is causing not only damage to physical cars but also Tesla's business as a whole. As Forbes' Alan Ohnsman reported last week, Tesla rivals are making significant gains in the marketplace, especially China's BYD.
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