LETTER: How to stop vehicle thefts in Las Vegas and elsewhere

I’m for funding the police and being hard on crime. But there is a simple solution to auto theft: Vehicle manufacturers should follow Tesla’s example by offering the option of entering a simple four-digit pin before the vehicle can be driven. Hot wiring cannot defeat this solution because it is programmed into the electronics. Gasoline-powered vehicles have ample electronics to accomplish the same.

Look at Tesla’s rate of vehicle theft. And of the few that are stolen (because some Tesla owners failed to set up the optional pin feature), most are recovered because the vehicle is easily tracked on the Tesla app.

I’m not suggesting a government mandate to install the pin feature. I’m suggesting manufacturers participate in the solution voluntarily. To be fair, the pin feature doesn’t stop carjacking where a criminal steals a vehicle being driven, but the tracking feature is a strong deterrent to carjacking a Tesla.