Why Thieves Hate Tesla Motors’ Cars

Based on a study conducted by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), Tesla Motors' Model S electric car is considered as the least-stolen car in America for 2013, Autoblog reported.

On the other end of the list, meanwhile, is the Honda Accord. The NICB revealed that the Honda sedan was stolen more than 50,000 times during the study's 12-month period.

The main factor that deters thieves from going after Tesla cars lies in their electronic security system. Once stolen, owners can immediately disable the engine of their electric cars and track them down with a press of a button, according to Tech Times.

Even though the company did not comment on its electric vehicles' reputation among car thieves, a representative said Tesla Motors will continue to improve its research methods in developing more efficient security systems.

"We take the security of our cars very seriously and relentlessly continue to improve our vehicles via over-the-air updates, an ability unique to the industry," Alexis Georgeson, the spokesperson for Tesla Motors said.

"We will continue to work to stay ahead by providing the most sophisticated tools and technologies in our cars and working closely with security researchers to identify and address potential vulnerabilities," Georgeson continued.

Although Tesla's high-tech security system protects its cars from thieves, security experts warn that the technology can also be used against the owners.

Like other modern cars, a Tesla vehicle's components and features are interconnected wirelessly. The danger in this kind of setup is once the car's network has been hacked, a cyber attacker can instantly gain control of the vehicle without stepping inside it, the International Business Times reported.

The security concern was revealed by Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek, security researchers for Twitter and IOActive.

"Automotive security concerns have gone from the fringe to the mainstream with security researchers showing the susceptibility of modern vehicle to local and remote attacks," the two stated in their report, "A Survey of Remote Automotive Attack Surfaces."

"A malicious attacker leveraging a remote vulnerability could do anything from enabling a microphone for eavesdropping to turning the steering wheel to disabling the brakes," Miller and Valasek added.