Tesla is readying a software update for vehicles equipped with Sentry Mode in order to reduce how much battery the security surveillance system uses.
Sentry Mode uses the vehicle’s cameras to continuously monitor the car’s surroundings when parked. The footage is then recorded and can be saved to a USB. It’s a nifty feature but comes with a drawback: battery drain. While Tesla hasn’t said how much battery Sentry Mode uses, it is believed to use up to 15% of the battery pack per day, hence why Tesla doesn’t allow owners to use the feature if their vehicle has less than 20% charge.
Tesla’s SVP of powertrain and energy engineering, Drew Baglino, confirmed on X earlier this week that the automaker is working on improving the ‘vampire drain’, stating a software update will be launched in Q2 to reduce power consumption by around 40%.
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“Sentry mode power consumption needs improvement,” he said. “The team is working to reduce by ~40% in a Q2 software update.”
In recent years, we’ve seen plenty of instances where vandals or thieves have been caught red-handed by Sentry Mode but the system hasn’t been without controversy. Last year, Dutch authorities forced Tesla to update the system to flash a vehicle’s headlights as a warning that Sentry has started recording following privacy concerns about citizens being filmed in public spaces without their knowledge. Tesla also altered its advertising of Sentry Mode in Germany due to similar privacy concerns.
In separate news, a Californian judge advanced a lawsuit against Tesla earlier this week that alleges the brand installed software updates in several customer vehicles to intentionally damage their batteries. The lawsuit claims that an automatic software update implemented by Tesla reduces the driving range of some Model S and Model X vehicles “by at least 20%.”
