As part of Tesla software update 2024.38.4, Tesla has finally included updates to Sentry Mode to reduce its power consumption.
Sentry Mode is part of Tesla’s security system that keeps the vehicle sensors and cameras on to detect, record, and then inform the owner about suspicious activity. You can read more about it, including how much power it consumes, in our guide covering Tesla Sentry Mode.
Sentry Mode Battery Drain
Sentry Mode keeps the vehicle awake and continuously processes data from the vehicle’s eight cameras. However, due to the vehicle’s architecture and processing the multiple video feeds, Sentry Mode consumes a significant amount of power. Over a 24-hour period, an average Model 3 or Model Y will typically experience a battery drain of about 7-14% with Sentry Mode enabled, or roughly about one mile per hour.
While Sentry Mode is a great security feature, owners often have to decide whether the loss of range is worth the added security. Sentry Mode also becomes an issue when leaving your vehicle parked for an extended period of time, such as at the airport.
Sentry Mode Improvements
Tesla announced earlier this year that they were bringing significant efficiency improvements to Sentry Mode by cutting power usage by 40%.
Update 2024.38 is bringing about those changes. Tesla is changing the way its onboard computers process video to make Sentry Mode use much more efficient. Right now, the vehicle needs to keep its FSD and MCU (infotainment) computers on to process videos from the vehicle’s cameras. However, that’s changing with some architectural improvements in update 2024.38.
This change will arrive first with the Cybertruck in update 2024.38.4 and later. According to our source, it will also be available for other models in a future update, but Tesla is starting with the Cybertruck first.
Since most Cybertrucks have FSD included as part of the Foundation Series, they’re on FSD-specific updates, meaning that the number of Cybertrucks with update 2024.38 is extremely small. Once it becomes more widely available, we should be able to get some numbers to see how close Tesla got to its 40% power reduction.
Update: Read our follow-up story on the changes Tesla is making in the way it processes video to improve Sentry Mode’s power consumption.
