A video of the incident recorded by the Tesla Model 3.
- A Tesla Model 3 sedan scared off two people who kicked its charging port.
- The incident occurred at the Park MGM hotel in Las Vegas and was recorded by one of the vehicle's cameras.
- According to the vehicle's owner, the Model 3 had Tesla's Sentry Mode feature activated.
- If the feature detects what it considers a serious threat, it will sound the vehicle's alarm, turn on its touchscreen, and play music at full volume.
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A Tesla Model 3 sedan scared off two people who tried to remove its charging plug and kicked its charging port.
The incident occurred at the Park MGM hotel in Las Vegas and was recorded by one of the vehicle's cameras. The Model 3's owner posted the video to YouTube on January 10.
"Our Model 3 was able to alert us that someone was tampering with the vehicle at 2 a.m. in Vegas," the owner wrote. "I was able to report and send this to Park MGM Security. Technology is kind of cool!"
The video begins with a man walking up to the Model 3 and unsuccessfully attempting to open one of its doors. A second man tries to pull a charging plug out of the vehicle, also without success. The two men then kick the Model 3's charging port before the vehicle starts flashing an orange light, after which the two men walk away from the vehicle.
According to the vehicle's owner, the Model 3 had Tesla's Sentry Mode feature activated. Introduced in 2019, the feature acts as an advanced alarm system for Tesla vehicles. If it detects what it considers a serious threat, it will sound the vehicle's alarm, turn on its touchscreen, and play music at full volume. The feature will then send an alert to the owner's phone and record a video of the incident that the owner can download.
Are you a Tesla owner with a Sentry Mode video you'd like to share, or a current or former Tesla employee with an opinion about what it's like to work there? Contact this reporter at mmatousek@businessinsider.com. You can also reach out on Signal at 646-768-4712 or email this reporter's encrypted address at mmatousek@protonmail.com.
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