Richel Valdivia faces felony charges after taking a Tesla Cybertruck for a test drive and failing to return it, leading to its recovery with extensive damage. Pinellas County deputies say he intentionally smashed parts of the vehicle with a hammer. The incident occurred in St. Petersburg, Florida.
On November 17, around 4 p.m., Richel Valdivia visited a Tesla dealership at 4601 34th Street N in St. Petersburg, Florida, to take a Cybertruck for a 30-minute demo drive, according to Pinellas County Sheriff's Office arrest affidavits.
Instead of returning the vehicle, Valdivia kept it for two days. On the morning of November 19, an assistant manager from the dealership went to Valdivia's home and recovered the Cybertruck.
Upon inspection, the assistant manager discovered significant interior damage. The rearview camera was damaged, the GPS monitor was missing from the front windshield, and the driver's side sun visor was detached. The front left and right fender flares were torn off and barely hanging on. Inside the fender flares, deputies found several small landscaping rocks along with men's underwear on each side.
Footage from the Cybertruck showed Valdivia intentionally damaging the vehicle, the assistant manager told deputies. The estimated cost of the damage is around $20,000.
Valdivia was arrested on November 26 by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. He faces two felony charges: criminal mischief and grand theft of a motor vehicle. A $5,000 bond was set for each charge, and jail records indicate the bond has been paid.