Tesla's Sentry Mode saves the day again. InsideEVs reader, Steve D, of New Jersey sent us the video as well as thanks for recommending the purchase and use of a USB drive to record TeslaCam. Unfortunately, his Performance Model 3 was the victim of a hit and run last week while he was dining at a restaurant.
Tesla Sentry Mode News
Luckily for him, Steve has his USB drive installed and sentry mode active when the hit and run took place. By the time Steve went outside to check what happened, the offender had taken off without leaving a note or trying to identify the owner of the car she had just hit. It's pretty clear she realized she hit his car, as his lights were flashing and the horn was beeping.
You can even see her look into the rearview mirror for a brief moment. The video ends with her still there, but she drives off about 5 seconds later. That was captured in the next video which Steve also provided to the authorities.
Steve reached out to me to thank me for publishing the Tesla Model 3 Must-Have accessory post a few months back. He had just gotten his Model 3 and wasn't really clear about how the sentry mode worked. He asked me if I thought he really needed the USB stick to record his videos and I assured him that it would be money well spent.
Well, he's glad he took my advice now because only a few months later, he was the victim of a hit and run. A woman accidentally put her car into reverse and backed into his car instead of pulling forward out of her parking space. Steve's Model 3 was parked behind her car and she hit the front right side of the nose of his car, deeply scratching the plastic front bumper cover. The event was recorded clearly by TeslaCam and the police that responded to his call were very pleased to see such clear evidence.
Steve's Model 3 will need a new front bumper cover and luckily the offender's insurance company will have to cover the expense. While we're sure Steve's not happy his car was hit, we know he's glad he took our advice and had a USB drive saving his sentry mode videos. We appreciate Steve reaching out and letting us know we were instrumental in his decision to use the USB drive, and that this ended about as good as it could for him, all things considered.
Are you driving a Model 3 without installing a USB drive yet? If so we recommend getting one ASAP - you never know when you're going to be next.