Tampa Tesla thief returns to dealer to get his belongings after stealing Cybertruck during test drive: HCSO | FOX 35 Orlando
Expand / Collapse search
☰

Tampa Tesla thief returns to dealer to get his belongings after stealing Cybertruck during test drive: HCSO

By
Published  April 2, 2025 4:04pm EDT
News
FOX 13 News

The Brief

    • A Tampa man is accused of stealing a Tesla Cybertuck.
    • The dealer found the Cybertruck using geolocation tracking.
    • The man was arrested when deputies say he returned to the dealer to get items he left behind in the vehicle.

TAMPA, Fla. - A Tampa man who is accused of stealing a Tesla Cybertruck while taking it on a test drive from a dealership was arrested when deputies say he returned to the store to gather his belongings after the vehicle was found through geolocation tracking. 

The backstory:

According to a criminal affidavit, Dexter Smithen went to a Tesla dealership on March 26, 2025, met with a salesperson and chose to test drive a Cybertruck Cyberbeast. 

The salesperson said Smithen gave him his driver’s license and the photo matched Smithen.

Smithen signed an agreement to test-drive the Tesla Cybertruck for no longer than 30 minutes and return it to the dealership, but he never returned, according to the report. 

The affidavit states that the salesperson called the phone number Smithen listed on the test-drive agreement, but it was disconnected. Then, the salesperson emailed Smithen and demanded the return of the Cybertruck. 

Courtesy: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office

Courtesy: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office

Dig deeper:

On March 31, 2025, the affidavit states that a different salesperson used geolocation tracking to find the vehicle. 

The salesperson told deputies they saw Smithen driving the Cybertruck, park at a Home Depot and go inside the store.

After getting cellphone video of Smithen walking through the parking lot, the report states that the salesperson recovered the Cybertruck and the incident was reported to HCSO. 

On April 1, 2025, according to the affidavit, Smithen returned to the Tesla dealership. 

An HCSO deputy spoke with Smithen who said he went back to the store to get his belongings left behind in the Cybertruck. 

While searching Smithen, the deputy said he found five credit/bank cards in the name of five different people.

Smithen has been charged with grand theft of more than $100,000 and unlawful possession of personal identification.

The Source: This story was written with information found on a criminal affidavit. 

STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA:

NewsCrime and Public SafetyFloridaCrime and Public Safety