One of the things that make Tesla vehicles special is that the company does “over the air” updates to tweak the functionality of the car regularly.
In a new update, Tesla announced a feature called ‘Dog Mode,’ that keeps the vehicle a comfortable temperature for any animals inside, even if the vehicle is turned off. Anyone that looks inside the car will also be notified that the car is a safe temperature.
On the large touch screen in the center of the vehicle, a message will be displayed, which reads “My owner will be back soon. Don’t worry! The A/C is on, and it’s [temperature].” A similar message will appear to show that the heat is on in cold weather.
This new feature will be available in the Model S, Model X, and Model 3. Teslarati suggested this could be an extension of the “Overheat Cabin Protection amenity” that Tesla released in 2016.
Overheat Cabin Protection is still limited in its functionality, since it was just designed to periodically start the car’s air conditioning system in order to prevent the vehicle from reaching extreme heats while it was parked. Nevertheless, the new Dog Mode feature will allow Tesla owners to choose whatever temperature they want for the inside of the car while they are gone.
Introducing Dog Mode: set a cabin temperature to keep your dog comfortable while letting passersby know they don't need to worry pic.twitter.com/xFU6MGZT53
— Tesla (@Tesla) February 14, 2019
If you are a Tesla owner, it’s very easy to activate this function. Tap the fan icon at the bottom of the touchscreen when the vehicle is parked, then toggle “Keep Climate On” to “DOG.”
It only takes a few minutes for cars to reach lethal temperatures on a hot day. Each year, the lives of hundreds of dogs are lost because their owners left them in the car for “a few minutes,” without the air conditioning turned on. Features like this will hopefully become a standard as the technology inside all vehicles become more advanced.
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