Sicko Mode Meets Sentry Mode.
Our cooler “younger” readers are probably familiar with the hit song “Sicko Mode” by American Hip Hop artist Travis Scott. Fun fact; Travis Scott is the “baby daddy” to Forbes youngest self made billionaire Kylie Jenner. The song features three artists, namely Swae Lee, Big Hawk and Drake. The lyrics of this track, among other things, see the rappers (Scott and Drake) boasting about their insane work ethic. According to them, their competition can’t stand them when they go into “Sicko” or beast mode. Here’s a refresher just incase you have been under a rock for the past 12 months. I also wrote about this on my Cyberbackpack blog.
The Urban Dictionary defines “Sicko Mode” as a level of both intelligence and physical being in such one can achieve anything. I think that definition is exactly what Tesla’s Sentry Mode is. Here’s Tesla’s official definition of Sentry Mode:
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.
By Tesla’s own definition, Sentry Mode puts your Tesla into a Sicko Mode of sorts, giving it a level of intelligence and physical awareness (being) in such that your Tesla can achieve the awesome feat of monitoring and being aware of it’s own surroundings at all time. This awesome feature comes a few months after Tesla version 9 software upgrade which introduced a new Tesla dashcam feature that was able to capture footage from the front-facing camera but only when the car was active. With Sentry Mode, the car no longer has to be active for the camera to be activated at the sign of an external threat.
A Private Security For Your Tesla
DIY home security solutions where homeowners can install and monitor their homes remotely via a smartphone app are in high demand, so much so that many startups have been able to raise millions through Kickstarter funded projects. These startups aren’t the only ones cashing in on the DIY security demand. Google snapped up Nest and Dropcam while Amazon gobbled up Ring for a reported $1 billion. Telecom companies are also getting in on the DIY home security market. Driven mostly by Millennials, DIY home security solutions are especially enticing to consumers under the age of 45 who are more comfortable with the capturing their every move on camera. Their growing participation in the market is a major factor in the industry’s overall growth.
Tesla’s Sentry Mode clearly caters to this growing demand, and should give Millennials another reason (as if they needed more), to get their hands on a Tesla. However this solution has some room for improvement. For one, when the Tesla switches to “Alarm” state, owners will 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 the incident (which begins 10 minutes prior to the time a threat was detected) by inserting a formatted USB drive into their car’s USB Charger port before they enable Sentry Mode. This means the video cannot yet be streamed live — which is the more preferred mode of security monitoring today.
Having said that, Tesla’s Sentry Mode is the best any vehicle manufacture currently has to offer. Tesla’s solution injects some intelligence into the dumb feature that we currently all rely on called vehicle alarm systems. As we wall know, alarm systems go off at the worst possible times, especially when you’re trying to get some much needed R&R. With alarms systems on practically every car in the United States, the United States still had 773,139 motor vehicles stolen in 2017 – the highest since 2009, according to data from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. That is evidence that the current status quo in vehicle security systems is just not working. Leave it to Tesla to rethink and reinvent yet another overlooked aspect of the automotive industry and I for one say it’s about damn time.
I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention that Tesla also thought about pet owners and included a “Dog Mode” for those times when you have to leave a four-legged friend in the car alone (providing that is allowed by local laws). Not only does it keep the cabin at a comfortable temperature (just tap the fan icon while parked and set the climate to “Dog”), it also displays that temperature on the car’s internal screen, hopefully preventing any well-meaning Good Samaritans from breaking your windows unnecessarily. If the car’s battery drops below 20 percent while in Dog Mode then it will send a notification to your phone. What would they think of next…perhaps a Wife Mode. I would let you think about that one.
Before I forget, here’s a video of me testing out the sentry mode on my very own Tesla Model X. Enjoy!
By the way if you like this post and you are in the market for a new Tesla, Tesla has an amazing referral program that offers you 1000 free supercharging miles if you use a referral code when you make your purchase. As a two-time Tesla owner, having owned a model S and model X, I can assure you that purchasing a Tesla will be the best automotive decision you’ve ever made and will ever make in your life. So why not make use of my referral code below and we can both continue to enjoy the wonderful Tesla life.
