A routine tow job at the Calabasas Commons turned into a much bigger story than anyone expected when it turned out the Tesla being hoisted onto a flatbed had a passenger nobody accounted for. A white husky.
The moment was caught on camera and posted to TikTok by user Preston.Pippen, whose caption cut straight to the point: if this was your Tesla getting towed, your dog was going with it. The clip quickly made the rounds, racking up views and comments from people who could not believe a dog was seemingly still in the car as it was being lifted off the pavement.
It did not take long for the internet to start asking the obvious questions. Was the dog okay? Did the tow company know? And maybe the biggest one: why was a husky, a breed built for snow and cold climates, sitting in a car in the first place instead of somewhere with a little more airflow.
A follow-up video answered at least part of that. It showed the Tesla being lowered back down onto the ground, with a caption explaining that whoever was handling the tow realized the dog was inside and stopped the process. Crisis averted, though not before it lit up comment sections everywhere.
What We Know About Tesla’s Pet Mode
@preston.pippen who’s white husky is this bro #calabasasconfidential #calabasas #dog #la ♬ Saxophones getting louder – Sped Up – AntonioVivald
Tesla owners have a built-in tool for exactly this kind of situation called Pet Mode, which keeps the climate control running and displays a message on the center screen letting passersby know the cabin temperature and that the pet is fine. The catch is that Pet Mode only works if the car is left on. Whether that was the case here is not clear from the video.
One commenter who said they own a Tesla pointed out the window appeared to be cracked open, which they took as a sign Pet Mode probably was not active, since the car would not need a cracked window if the AC was doing its job.
Is It Even Legal to Tow a Car With a Pet Inside
@preston.pippen Replying to @🌺 #calabasasconfidential #calabasas #la ♬ original sound – Tez.
This is where a lot of the outrage in the comments landed. Several people asked whether towing companies are allowed to move a vehicle at all if there is a pet inside, regardless of whether the car is parked illegally.
It is a fair question, and one that probably varies by city and by tow company policy, but it is easy to see why plenty of husky owners and non-owners alike wanted an answer before the flatbed straps even came out.
Our Take
Look, towing companies have a job to do, and illegally parked cars are illegally parked cars. But this one feels like a good reminder that a quick glance in the window before hooking anything up goes a long way. Credit where it is due, whoever was working that tow noticed the dog and put the Tesla back down before anything went sideways. That is the outcome everyone wanted.
Still, if you are the kind of owner who runs Pet Mode, it might be worth double checking the screen is actually displaying before you walk away, because apparently even a Tesla dashboard cannot argue with an angry crowd on TikTok.