Sentry Mode Makes Tesla An Armored Van

I delight in showing friends and family the security features of my Tesla Model 3. They get especially excited when I show them the Tesla Cam feature and discuss how it is being used to convict car thieves and vandals. I have also had the reaction that it is an invasion of privacy. I think this is an issue we will have to face and reconcile — security vs. observation as more and more cameras are used to secure public places. It’s a bit like the debate over freedom vs. government health mandates in the current health crisis. 

Armored van. Image courtesy of David Waterworth.

Let’s get back to the cameras on the car. We have a collection of interesting videos. Like most Tesla owners, we have videos of crazy motorists — the motorbike racing up the bicycle lane on the left just before we were due to make a left hand turn — he almost became a permanent decoration for the passenger door. We have the let’s-cut-in-front-of-the-semi-doing-100-km/h-on-the-highway video. And the best one — the video of the man who couldn’t see out of the back of his work truck while he backed it into my wife who was sitting in the Tesla in the parking lot. That last one made the insurance claim easy.

But it wasn’t until I spotted the armored truck delivering cash to the ATMs at the shopping centre that I realized what a select, secure group we belong to. My ordinary passenger car has the same security as Prosegur, one the world’s leading cash management providers, operating in 5 continents (Oceania, Europe, Africa, North America, and South America).

As Tesla owners and drivers, it is sometimes easy to forget the features that have been built into our cars for security and protection. Sentry Mode is a great little gimmick. The grandkids love doing little dances around the car. But it is far more than that, and it comes standard.

Armored van. Image courtesy of David Waterworth.