SAN FRANCISCO: No dog will ever die in a hot Tesla, thanks to a new function that monitors the temperature and lets worried passers-by know that the owner is returning soon.
Tesla announced a new mode for dog-owners driving its Model 3 cars, as well as a new smart function that protects the car from theft.
Five minutes in a hot car are enough for a dog to suffer a heatstroke, and dogs can sustain brain damage or even die from the heatstroke in just 15 minutes.
Even if the outdoor temperature is relatively low, cars can quickly heat up when parked in the sun. In such instances, panting doesn't help a dog to reduce its body temperature.
Rolling down a window a bit will do little to help the dog — but this isn't really practical if you're gone for longer than a few minutes.
Here is where Tesla's Dog Mode can make all the difference.
By pressing the option DOG on the car's controls, the Tesla will make sure that the temperature in the car is regulated so that your canine friend is comfortable. Presumably, this feature will serve owners of other pets as well. The company demonstrated the new function in a video released Wednesday.
The second new option, Sentry Mode, is basically a slightly better car alarm. When you switch on the feature, the Tesla will use the outside cameras and sensors to detect movement or people touching the car while you're away.
If someone leans against the car, for instance, it will start recording everything happening — and if something worse happens, such as a window being broken, the alarm will be triggered and will start making a lot of noise — including blaring music out at full volume.
This software update will first only be available for Model 3 Teslas, but should be rolled out to older models later in the year.
