A man at a gas station tried to pull...fraud? I don’t know, something...by claiming a Tesla backed into him while he was standing there. As USA Today reports, it didn’t end well for him.
Arthur Bates Jr., the 47-year-old man in question, was in the gas station’s parking lot where the “incident” occurred. In video footage from the Tesla released by local authorities, Bates can be seen behind the vehicle. He’s not even aware he’s being caught in 4k: (For you older folks and people not in the know, Tesla cameras don’t record in 4k as far as I know. “Caught in 4k” is a colloquialism for getting caught on camera.)
Unbeknownst to Bates, Teslas record all the footage of their cameras,” police said. “When Slidell Police officers reviewed the Tesla’s video footage, it became apparent that Bates was lying and staged the entire event.
In the video, Bates can be seen behind the Tesla as it slowly reverses. As the vehicle comes to a stop, Bates literally walks into the bumper of the car and collapses on the ground pretending he’s in pain and placing his foot on the back of the car. A person that may be the driver of the vehicle wasn’t buying it though. From the Charlotte Observer:
The man, later identified as Bates, continues to lie on the ground for a few seconds before another person moves into the frame and slaps his foot off the tailgate. The car then drives away with Bates still on the ground.
Bates then had the nerve to go and call for emergency services, with an ambulance and firefighters coming to check him for injuries. Police managed to find the driver of the car who explained that they witnessed Bates intentionally getting behind the vehicle. With the footage from the vehicle backing the driver up, Bates fessed up that everything was faked and has been charged with “false swearing with intent to cause an emergency response.”