What was this guy (a pedestrian) thinking when he intentionally bumped into the rear of a Tesla Model 3 that was reversing out of a parking spot? Had the car not had its array of exterior cameras that cover every single angle possible, he may have got away, because it would have been his word against the driver’s, but as things stand he just ended up fined, in jail and looking utterly ridiculous.

The man you see in the Tesla Cam footage is Arthur Bates Jr., 47, who reported to the Slidell, Louisiana USA Police Department that the Model 3 had backed into him causing him to fall and hurt his leg, back and neck, before taking off. The police found the Tesla driver who denied Bates’ claims, stating that he had instead attempted to stage the incident in order to profit from it.

 

And while Bates didn’t have anything to back up his claims, the Tesla driver had footage that proved this had been an attempted scam. The Slidell Police issued a statement saying that ‘ unbeknown to Bates, Tesla’s record all the footage of their cameras. When Slidell Police officers reviewed the Tesla’s video footage, it became apparent that Bates was lying and staged the entire event, ‘ and so he was taken into custody.

Mr. Bates is now facing up to six months in jail as well as a $500 (£360) fine for having called the emergency services without reason, as well as up to five years in jail for lying about what happened in order to profit from it, as well as an additional fine of up to $1,000 (£725) - had it resulted in bodily harm or property damages, it would have incurred even more jail time.