Almost a year ago, Stacey* heard her Tesla car alarm sound on three occasions in the middle of the night.
By that point, the Sydney woman had suffered four years of domestic abuse by her former partner and disgraced businessman, Enrico Pucci. When the alarm sounded, she was “too scared” to go outside because she thought he may be damaging her vehicle, according to police documents tendered in court.
The next morning, the car appeared undamaged, but Stacey noticed its electronic dashboard had been reset and a “parental control” profile had been added.
Three days later, Pucci, now 50, followed her in a car and started to yell at her about a man she was dating.
“You thought you’d get away with this. I am in your car. I am in your maps,” he shouted at her, according to the police records.
Over the coming days, Stacey found that the parental control profile, to which she had no access, could almost entirely control the car, including its speed, climate control, lock and curfew hours, determining when the car could be driven.
Between 6 and 12 November 2025, Pucci remotely alternated the car’s temperature setting between extremely cold and extremely hot.
“The victim has not been able to drive certain speeds and on most recent occasions throughout this period, [the accused] has turned on ‘Valet Mode’ which immediately reduces the speed to 40km per hour causing significant safety issues for the victim on the road”, the police documents stated.
“The victim has not had any control of her vehicle since she noticed the parental control profile added on the 1st November 2025.
“The accused has been the only one with access to the vehicle’s controls utilising the Tesla app. This has caused the victim significant stress, mental harm and fears for her physical safety when operating her own vehicle.”
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