Got my car towed while at work

They should've used the lift pucks and jack pads

Looks like he is getting all tires off the ground which would be safe. Why did they tow you?

Why is work relevant? Usually tow truck operators know their stuff, it should be OK.

Looks like you parked on forbidden spots (sign reads tow away zone).

The lift pucks were never a Tesla thing, as a former tech we were instructed not to use them as they were not company approved. Only the original roadster needed lift arm adapters.

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Based on the signs it was because he parked in the wrong spot

If they got all 4 wheels up then they did it right. Was it a legitimate tow? Getting towed when you are in the wrong sucks but it happens, and it is one of life's lessons. 😒😒$$ If it was towed in error then scour the vehicle for damage and get compensated.

I’m working maintenance in the property, was told parking there was fine

Working at that property & was told parking there was fine…

I hope you add it to the invoice.

I don’t think the front wheels got lifted by the same wheels like the back I’m looking at the videos have 25 right now that I’m looking through ..

HAHA you have his picture. 

Front wheels would be hooked/lifted by the towing arm (might not be the right term here) that’s attached to the towing truck. Like this: https://quality1sttowing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AWD-vehicle.jpg

Mines been towed (rather moved 15 feet when I noticed the alarm going off in the app) and when I saw the vehicle, is was just the way yours is pictured.

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The tow looks fine - he’s putting the rear wheels on dollies so the tow itself won’t cause any issues. Look over the vehicle though for any damage like scuffed rims or dented panels.

I’m wondering the same thing.

Definitely

If the jack pad slides inboard it could puncture the battery. That’s the reason for the pucks - to locate the safe lift points and minimize the possibility of sliding.

I’m working at that property , was told parking there was fine.. 🙃

It’s night already sadly can’t see shit since my car is black it’s also dirty from the rain and dust…. tmr I’m taking it to a car wash I want to see if anything is visible

Looks like they put it on a dolly which is how Tesla recommends the car be towed if a flat bed truck is not an option.

If possible check for damage prior to collecting the car that way the company can't deny you because "There is no proof that (insert any damage here) happened during the tow".

I’ve been an ev tech since 2010, launched LEAF with Nissan. You have to reallllllllllly fuck up to damage the cells inside any externally mounted packs. They’re designed to survive impacts at speed. I’ve seen less than a dozen actual bad packs from puncture. All from high speed accidents.

That’s not how it works, the car is not sliding on the jack pad without extreme angles. You guys are seriously over thinking this.

What part of my “ensure safe lifting” is overthinking it? You can absolutely lift a vehicle without these pucks, but for a Joe Shmoe that doesn’t know what they’re doing they could lift in the wrong spots or not get the jack properly on the frame rail allowing it to slip more easily. You’ve never seen a picture of a car slipping off a jack? You’ve never seen someone jack a car not using the jack spots? Lots of manufacturers like pucks to help ensure safe lifting.

So did they do it right? Sorry this is literally my first time ever getting towed with my Tesla

Yes, it appears they did it correctly and carefully. Seems like you lucked out with a good tow company though hopefully you can get it credited since it sounds like it was towed in error if you were told it was fine to park there by the location.

The center of gravity is very low on these cars. You’d have to be doing some really sketchy shit for it to slip on a jack. I worked mobile service for them for nearly 3 years. No one within the company used them again we were instructed specifically not to use them, we lifted them with JTC aluminum jacks which are roughly identical to a Harbor Freight Daytona. The puck itself poses a bigger risk of the jack slipping at an angle than a direct contact pad. I’ve been doing this for 20 years, I’ve lifted thousands of cars. You have to be doing seriously dumb shit to get a car to slide on a jack, let alone a flat bottom low CG EV. Like lifting on a greater than 30* angle.

Good thing your better to offer so much Clarity on the topic

OP I’m curious, did you have Sentry mode on? Did the alarm go off or alert you in the app? I see that it captured a recording, but it sends a different critical alert when something happens like moving of the parked vehicle similar to when my parked MY was hit.

You got Dolly towed. None of your wheels touched the ground when the vehicle moved.

The jack pads allows you to use a jack with a cup shaped lift pad. If you have a flat jack that’s rubberized you don’t really need them. I use them personally, but just because they make it very easy for me to see that the jack pad is centered on the lift pad on the jack I’m using. I’d also definitely use them with a scissor lift.

If he didn't use the jackpads he probably damaged something underneath, you should check that.

I’ve had someone try to tow my M3 with sentry off and it went ballistic… alarm, flashing lights, the whole set. They left the car where it was 😅

I use them because my Jack has the cup shape and tends to deform lift points on some cars, so I have a special rubber pad that sits in it to do lifting. I haven't lifted my Tesla myself, but I have the pucks if I use my jack ever.

If some jackass tries to tow by just lifting the front end, what happens? I know it's not good because of the motor, but what kind of recourse might one have in that situation?

Then why does Tesla sell lift pucks on its website?

Bro took someone’s spot and that someone called a tow to get their spot back 🤣

Sentry was on and got notified right away (suspicious activity) my phone was muted sadly so I didn’t really hear it or feel it since I was working only found out when I took my phone out an hr later.. it was alerting me so manyyy timesssss too 🙃

It’s a visitor’s parking so anyone is free to park in any of those there’s signs in the back

That’s because you all how to lift a vehicle safely. How do you not know how dumb an average Joe is when it comes to working on vehicles?

As long as the wheels were not turning you should be fine but as you probably already know this is not the Tesla recommended towing technique.

Link?

You’d have to purposefully negligent and trying to get hurt. It would be at such an angle even the puck would slip.

I’ve been trying by to tell people that the pucks are pretty much useless but I get downvoted so I don’t say anything anymore lol. I’ve been jacking up my car without the pucks for quite awhile now and there’s been zero issues

Well, without dolly’s they would have lifted the back. Not sure it’s true of all Teslas, but the parking/emergency brakes are almost always back wheels only. Because the front motor (AWD) does NOT have a permanent magnet, it wouldn’t burn up, but I can’t imagine they would enjoy being rolled. The back motor does have permanent magnets, and would, even if somehow the parking brake was off. Going over bumps with the back wheels up might cause some damage in the front. Finally, in case, you are trying to tow it improperly, Teslas really don’t have a neutral like ICE machines. Because the back wheels would brake and act as a generator if turned freely, when you put the car in neutral it simulates that by using the motor to keep up with the car. So rear dollies or flatbeds only. Most professional towing companies want your $2-400, and don’t want to get in a squabble with you or your insurance companies, so will always use dollies. They use these instead of flat beds because they can fairly stealthily get you towed that way in under 30 seconds, and avoid those awkward encounters with the owner.

Yes this is safe they used a dolly. I had mine towed like this to the service center for repairs since a flatbed was unable to enter the garage space.

Sorry, my mistake - it was a third party selling Tesla accessories. They're not needed if the mechanics know where to place the lifts.

I was checking if the Eb the Tow Goat got you!

Ugh. The center of gravity has nothing to do with it. I’m done discussing it because I have better things to do with my time than outline situations that someone might jack up a vehicle in an unsafe manner. These are just like the warnings in the front of every power tool owner’s manual. If you know how to safely use a tool, it’s no big deal to skip over them.

No worries, I would have admitted being wrong had it changed but I couldn’t find them either.

Wait, so if you're going 50 mph and throw it in neutral, the motor still uses energy to keep going at 50 mph?

I don’t think it uses much energy - it’s just enough to roll the wheels with the speed of whatever is moving the car. Otherwise it would brake. The important thing is don’t try to tow it a distance in neutral. It’s not built for that - perfect for getting dragged through a car wash, though.

Such tows typically lift the vehicle by the tires, and do not touch the body / frame at all.

I'm more thinking about flipping it in neutral driving down an incline. I have a road by my house that slopes downward to a red light. Sometimes it's great for regen but sometimes I'll flip it to neutral and use it to burnish my friction brakes a little.

Looks like tow signs. Don’t think you were allowed to park there tbh

😂 that’s so awesome

Well, if you are rolling down the street and put on the brakes, I assume it would do what you want - the motor should roll to match the downhill speed, and the brakes should slow down the car with the neutral function slowing along with them. Of course, who knows what voodoo the software engineers put into neutral? You could ask the service team if that is a good way to burnish the brakes. I can tell you in 6+ years of owning Teslas and 14 years owning other EVs, I’ve neither burnished nor replaced a brake. Not had them fail. So I wouldn’t spend a lot of time on this.

Tesla Website says dollys should only be used for 30 mi or less though but otherwise it's fine

Wait so it's a scam? Every repair place asks for them!

Because of herd mentality. We didn’t use special lifts or lift pucks. We used standard two post 7500-9000lb automotive lifts with adjustable round lift pads. Nothing special.

Was I the only one who kept trying to hit the play button to watch a video? Haha took me too long to realize it was a screenshot…

Wide open parking lot. Your car appears to not be hindering a damn thing. People are assholes.

Did you tell at them lol

Hahaha. I did it on both pictures 😂

The “towing arm” is called the wheel-lift. They can be manual, inserted to the outside of the tires, or automatic where they fold out from inside the tire. Most these days are automatic but medium-duty wreckers still use manual ones.

Do you live in a warm climate? Where I live there's lots of snow and salt so my brakes tend to stick if I don't use them for a bit.

Place was maybe 6 mins away