Tesla Launches ‘Dog Mode’ To Keep Your Furry Friend Safe In The Car
Despite thousands of warnings that repeatedly make the rounds year after year, for some reason, people still insist upon leaving their pets inside of cars in parking lots. In summer, this is particularly dangerous, with soaring temperatures putting the dogs’ lives in danger. Even in cooler weather, dogs can easily succumb to heat stroke.
Tesla has finally come up with a solution for irresponsible pet owners that could help save their fur-babies. The car company has announced the launch of a “Dog Mode” in some of their cars, which will monitor pets in the vehicle and let people know that they’re all right, according to Bloomberg.
The special mode was released on Wednesday for Model 3 cars, and will allow owners to “set the cabin temperature and display a message on the sedan’s screen signaling that the canine’s owner will be back soon.”
Apparently Tesla users have been asking owner Elon Musk to add this quirky feature over Twitter, to add to some other strange features that have been introduced to the car. Musk first announced that he would be working on this special feature in October, 2018, and started dropping hints early this week that its release was imminent.
The hope is that the feature will give pets a more comfortable environment inside the parked car in terms of temperature, while also letting concerned passersby know that the pooch is safe and well. The reason for that is the existence of “hot car” laws in 29 states that allow strangers and authorities to break car windows to save a dog’s life.
Tesla ‘Dog mode’ and ‘Sentry mode’ are now live to guard your car and pets https://t.co/BzNTRjhuWg by @kirstenkorosec pic.twitter.com/gvOSeHZvFL
— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) February 14, 2019
“This is in addition to existing Cabin Overheat Protection, which come on automatically at high temps to ensure any babies or pets in the car are safe,” Musk explained in a tweet following the release.
While the feature has been released slowly this week, Musk is hoping that he’ll be able to start rolling it out to everyone in the next week or two. The purpose of the trickle release is to make sure any bugs are worked out of the system before everyone has access to it.
“Dog Mode” can be found under the car’s climate control settings. The setting still allows owners to decide exactly what temperature to set the car at, but within preset limits that have been determined to be safe for dogs.
Tesla has still warned that owners should make sure they are familiar with their state’s laws regarding leaving pets in parked cars before relying solely on this new feature.
