Sentry Mode can help you track down vandals, but it might also get your Tesla towed away

We have seen countless cases of people behaving strangely around a Tesla. Electric vehicle. The reason is Tesla Sentry mode, a unique feature that lets you use the car’s cameras as surveillance devices. While other electric vehicles, most notably Rivian, have similar capabilities, Teslas are much more ubiquitous. Tesla Sentry mode activates the cameras (and sometimes the lights and horn) when it detects activity around the car. In many cases, it has helped owners find the person who wrecked their vehicle or tried to break in.

In one of the latest incidents to go viral, Sentry Mode recorded a vandal hitting a Tesla Model 3 Performance with a baseball bat multiple times. As expected, the video made it easy for police to identify the person who did it. The entire process took less than 24 hours, allowing the owner to file a lawsuit to recover their loss. Incredibly, Tesla introduced Sentry Mode in August 2017, and people still don’t know (or care) about it seven years later.

However, police officers are not unaware of the benefits of Sentry Mode. After solving many cases with the help of camera footage extracted from Tesla vehicles, they have discovered that wherever a Tesla EV is parked, they can also find evidence of a crime. This is not always good for Tesla owners, as some have already discovered. If the police cannot contact the owner, they tend to tow the car to obtain the necessary evidence. It doesn’t matter that not all Teslas have Sentry Mode enabled at all times or that the system was not activated in a specific case. The police are not at risk.

According to a San Francisco Chronicle report, a Canadian tourist was about to be separated from his Tesla after the Oakland Police Department obtained a warrant to remove it for evidence in a homicide case in July. Luckily, the owner showed up as crews were loading his car onto a tow truck and intervened. Police released the vehicle after she volunteered for the Sentry Mode video. It’s unclear whether the footage helped police crack the case. However, what is clear is that Teslas can provide valuable evidence, and police know it.

This wasn’t the first time police towed a Tesla to obtain footage from the Sentry Mode system. In at least three instances in July and August, Oakland police attempted to tow a Tesla to evidence to obtain archived video. In one instance, Oakland police obtained a search warrant to tow three vehicles, including a Tesla Model X with Kansas plates. Weeks later, two men were charged with murder, police cited “high definition surveillance footage” of the murder without specifically mentioning Tesla electric vehicles.

It’s not just Teslas that are being targeted by police for their potential video footage. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that self-driving cars in San Francisco and other cities are also being considered, thanks to their sophisticated video capabilities. Soon, evading surveillance will become nearly impossible, although that doesn’t mean people will stop committing crimes.