- WhistlinDiesel charged with tax evasion over Ferrari F8 purchase.
- Tennessee indictment ties YouTuber to unpaid vehicle sales tax.
- Ferrari destroyed in viral video was wearing Montana plates.
YouTubers can get a lot of attention, and sometimes that attention brings more than fame or fortune. Sometimes, it leads to attention from authorities. Cody Detwiler, better known as WhistlinDiesel, just found that out the hard way… years after he posted a video that might serve as evidence against him.
More: Florida Wants To Force Drivers To Use Front License Plates
Officers in Tennessee just arrested him on charges of tax evasion related to his Ferrari F8 Tributo. This is the same supercar he once bought purely, as he famously put it, to destroy.
He made plenty of content featuring the F8, but one clip in particular changed everything: the video showing the car engulfed in flames. As it burned, it carried Montana plates, and that small detail might be what set the legal process in motion.
According to WKRN, Detwiler is scheduled for arraignment on November 19 in Williamson County. Both he and his company, WhistlinDiesel LLC, are facing a single count of tax evasion.
Under Tennessee Code § 67-1-1440(g), state law makes it a Class E felony to “willfully attempt in any manner to evade or defeat any tax due the state,” so long as the amount involved is $500 or more.
The indictment repeats that exact threshold, alleging Detwiler attempted to avoid “sales tax due on the purchase of a 2020 Ferrari F8 Tributo” in an amount “of five hundred dollars ($500) or more.”
While it’s not explicitly stated, it sounds like Tennessee authorities might be trying to hold Detwiler accountable for sales tax on the car.
It’s unclear if the state believes that he never registered the car at all or if it believes he evaded taxes by registering the car in Montana. If it’s the latter, we can’t say we’re surprised.
Plenty of states have begun doing whatever they can to crack down on the practice. Due to attractive tax laws for wealthy folks, plenty of them register their high-end cars in Montana under an LLC. Notably, WhistlinDiesel, LLC is registered in Montana.
Detwiler later posted video and photos of his arrest online and simply said, “Won so big they thought I was cheating. (100% real not AI).” He followed that with another comment saying, “I didn’t do ANYTHING.”
We’ve reached out to Detwiler for additional comment and will update this story if we hear back.
