zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Culture
/
Watch Tesla's 'Sentry Mode' Use Its Cameras To Catch Someone Keying The Crap Out Of A Model 3
Watch Tesla's 'Sentry Mode' Use Its Cameras To Catch Someone Keying The Crap Out Of A Model 3-May 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:12:54

Image: CBS4 (screengrab from YouTube-arrows and text added by David Tracy)

Earlier this year, Tesla released “,” a feature that uses Tesla vehicles’ already-existing cameras to provide security footage of possible threats. The feature apparently works, because it just caught someone keying the bejesus out of a Tesla Model 3.And now that person has turned herself in to face criminal charges.

We’ve recently been covering the many of Tesla’s “ Summon” , which is meant to allow Teslas to drive themselves slowly through parking lots to their owners. But though the California-based car company has suffered gaffes like cars crashing while being smart-summoned, so too has it enjoyed triumph.

We showed one example of this back in March, when a Tesla used its Sentry Mode to. Now there’s a more recent incident from last weekend in Broomfield, Colorado—one that involves a Tesla Model 3's Sentry Mode capturing footage of someone apparently keying the car’s doors. Check it out:

The news comes from Denver’s , who spoke with the Tesla Model 3's owner, Alan Tweedie, who described how his car’s feature caught footage of the apparent vandal in a school parking lot. From the news site:

Tweedie said he found the damage when he got home. That’s when he decided to test his car’s newest feature: nine motion-activated cameras found in several strategic places.

“Then I found one where a woman distinctly came around with a key in her hand, dug it right in the side, walked it all the way up,” Tweedie said. “Very angry, very purposeful, definitely trying to conceal it.”

The video above shows the clip taken by one of the Model 3's cameras, apparently showing a woman keying the side of the car. That footage was evidently instrumental in solving the case, with CBS4 writing:

Without video, this type of crime would be difficult to investigate due to the usual lack of physical evidence, a spokesperson for Broomfield police said.

On top of that, the Broomfield Police Department wrote on its that the video yielded “hundreds of tips,” and that police eventually identified the suspect who on Wednesday night “turned herself in and was booked at the Broomfield Detention Center on the charge of Criminal Mischief, a class 6 felony.”

“We appreciate the community’s help solving this case,” the police’s post concludes.

CBS4 says officers estimate that repairing the paint damage will cost around $2,000. Tweedie described the long scratch in the CBS4 story, saying:

You can feel down to bare metal and you can see it’s scratched all the way completely through the paint,

There’s no word on what might have caused the suspect to key this vehicle.

While this situation is a pretty crappy one, it does highlight what seems like a pretty good feature. People spend so much money on their cars that it just makes sense to have a way to monitor that huge investment to make sure it’s safe.

In case you’re curious about how Sentry Mode works, here’s how Tesla describes it on its :

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.

If a car switches to “Alarm” state, owners will also receive an alert from their Tesla mobile app notifying them that an incident has occurred. They’ll be able to download a video recording of an incident (which begins 10 minutes prior to the time a threat was detected) by inserting a formatted USB drive into their car before they enable Sentry Mode.

It seems like a nice, useful way to use the car’s already-existing hardware. Nice.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Culture
The 2022 Ford Maverick Looks To Be Properly Tiny
The 2022 Ford Maverick Looks To Be Properly Tiny
Ford’s new sub-Ranger compact truck, the Maverick (at least we all think that’s what it’s going to be called) has been spotted testing again. This time though, we get a good idea of just how compact the new truck will be. Maverick Truck Club (more pics of the truck...
May 27, 2026
Volkswagen Is Eating Its Own
Volkswagen Is Eating Its Own
We have said it before, but VW’s Dieselgate will never end. The German auto giant has been busy pivoting to electric cars to repair its tainted image, but now it has opened a new offensive: pursuing its old boss, the glowering Martin Winterkorn, for damages. Winterkorn was always one...
May 27, 2026
Here Are The First Photos Of The 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS's Massive Screen
Here Are The First Photos Of The 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS's Massive Screen
When Mercedes-Benz announced its 2022 EQS, it was quick to mention the that spans the entire width of the dashboard. And while it released a few teaser images, we now have some actual renders of the full interior featuring the 56-inch (yes, that’s nearly five feet) screen. Mercedes notes...
May 27, 2026
When Did A Mechanic Try And Screw You Over?
When Did A Mechanic Try And Screw You Over?
are there for you when you try your best to fix your own car but fail. Unfortunately, sometimes a mechanic may not be that lifeline and instead become just another headache. When did a mechanic try and screw you? About a decade ago, a far less mechanically competent me...
May 27, 2026
Ford Is Somehow Still Bungling New Product Launches
Ford Is Somehow Still Bungling New Product Launches
More chip shortage nonsense, more SPAC nonsense, and what’s the deal with Ford and new product launches? All that and more in for March 29, 2021. Ford , some new Broncos , the F-150 launch and the Mustang Mach-E . It’s been the responsibility of Jim Farley, who ,...
May 27, 2026
This Peugeot Sedan Had A Porsche Transmission
This Peugeot Sedan Had A Porsche Transmission
You wouldn’t think much of a Peugeot 607 looking at it. You probably wouldn’t think much sitting in it, either. But right beside you would be one thing interesting: a Tiptronic transmission, developed by . Just to make this abundantly clear: the Peugeot 607 was not a high-performance car....
May 27, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved