Tesla Executive Says Fix For Vampire Drain In Sentry Mode Coming In Q2: 'Power Consumption Needs Improvement'

Tesla Inc TSLA executive, Drew Baglino, on Thursday revealed that the company is working on releasing a software update for reducing power consumption in its sentry mode.

What Happened: Acknowledging that sentry mode requires ample power, Baglino said, “Agreed, sentry mode power consumption needs improvement…”

The team at Tesla is working on fixing the overt power consumption via a software update. The update, aimed at reducing power consumption by about 40%, will be deployed in the second quarter, he said.

Baglino is the Senior Vice President of Power and Energy Engineering at Tesla. He was responding to a query on the initiative being taken by the company to fix the vampire drain in sentry mode. Vampire drain or phantom drain refers to the battery drain when vehicles are left idle.

Why It Matters: Sentry mode is a feature on Tesla cars where the vehicle’s cameras and sensors remain powered on and ready to record any “suspicious activity” around the vehicle when it is in park. On detecting any suspicious activity around the vehicle, it will pulse the headlights and sound the alarm to alert the individuals outside. The vehicle driver will receive an alert on their Tesla app and the video footage recorded by the cameras will be saved to the USB drive installed in the car.

The sentry mode has, in the past, faced privacy concerns. In February 2023, the Dutch Data Protection Authority, or DPA, concluded its investigation into the sentry mode for a potential privacy violation. The DPA, however, concluded the investigation with no fine or any other sanction for the EV maker.

Photo via Shutterstock

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Posted In: NewsTechdrew baglinoelectric vehiclesEVsmobilitySentry mode
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