Dog owners intentionally leaving their pet dog(s) locked in the automobile is not uncommon. While the risk here is obvious, it never seem to deter drivers from doing so, but there won’t be any risk if the pet owner happen to drive a Tesla. Tesla Motors has taken to Twitter to announce a new “Dog Mode” for Tesla cars. When set to Dog Mode, accessible from the huge-ass touchscreen center dash, the car will regulate the temperature inside the car even when the engine isn’t running.
Moreover, it will inform whoever maybe peeking into the car (possibly in horror) via the large LED display that the owner will be back and as in the case of the promo video, assures that the heater is on and at the same time, displaying the current cabin temperature prominently. That’s about what the Tweet and the YouTube details. What the Tweet and YouTube video did not say is when the Dog Mode is coming.
Introducing Dog Mode: set a cabin temperature to keep your dog comfortable while letting passersby know they don't need to worry pic.twitter.com/xFU6MGZT53
— Tesla (@Tesla) February 14, 2019
However, I suspect that it has something to do with the new Sentry Mode that is currently being rolled out for U.S. Model 3 and subsequently, Model S and Model X vehicles that were built after August 2017. Though, it is worthy to note that Tesla did not specifically point out the Dog Mode in the press release. In case you are wondering about the Sentry Mode, here’s what it is about:
“Sentry Mode adds a unique layer of protection to Tesla vehicles by continuously monitoring the environment around a car when it’s left unattended. When enabled, Sentry Mode enters a “Standby” state, like many home alarm systems, which uses the car’s external cameras to detect potential threats. If a minimal threat is detected, such as someone leaning on a car, Sentry Mode switches to an “Alert” state and displays a message on the touchscreen warning that its cameras are recording. If a more severe threat is detected, such as someone breaking a window, Sentry Mode switches to an “Alarm” state, which activates the car alarm, increases the brightness of the center display, and plays music at maximum volume from the car’s audio system.”
So, basically, Sentry Mode is a car alarm system that’s mostly software driven and already built into some models of Tesla cars. It has to be manually activated each time the driver wants use it. There’s no video on the Sentry Mode, but you can skip ahead to catch the Dog Mode promo video.
Image: YouTube (Tesla).
Source: Laughing Squid.