Tesla 鈥楧og Mode鈥� saves lives, but confuses alert humans
Tesla offers a clever solution - Dog Mode - to the problem of protecting pets in cars. But a vigilant public is still learning about the feature.聽
Tesla offers a clever solution - Dog Mode - to the problem of protecting pets in cars. But a vigilant public is still learning about the feature.聽
鈥淭hat鈥檚 my car!鈥� shouted Ross Hunt as he sprinted toward a policeman standing near his Tesla Model S.
Mr. Hunt had left his toy poodle, Loki, in the car on a hot day. A small crowd had gathered. But he wasn鈥檛 worried about his dog: He thought they were about to smash the car window, reported the Independent.
Endangering the health of a pet by locking it in the car on a hot, or cold, day in the U.S. is illegal in at least 28 states. Even so, last year, 58 pets died in cars, reports People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).聽Mr. Hunt, of Dublin, was charged with violating Ireland鈥檚 Animal, Health and Welfare Act.聽
Dear Loki was never in danger. As Mr. Hunt explained in court this month, his Tesla was in 鈥淒og Mode.鈥� That鈥檚 an ingenious new feature that runs the air conditioner while the owner is away. But in an electric car, it鈥檚 almost silent.聽聽Tesla owners can monitor the temperature with an app on their phone. If the battery charge falls to 20 percent, the app alerts the owner.
Loki enjoyed a comfortable 68 degrees F.聽 and the judge dismissed the charges. But electric and hybrid car owners say this happens a lot.
"I had to print signs for every window explaining that the car is constantly monitored and that the A/C is on after having to deal with the police three times in as many weeks. People don鈥檛 notice the display. I bought plastic frames with suction cups off of amazon to hold the signs. Thankfully, the cops were nice each time, although one insisted on actually getting into the car to check the temperature,"聽wrote one owner in a Tesla forum.聽
The compassion and vigilance of so many people is reassuring. In Dog Mode, the 17-inch Tesla display says: 鈥淢y owner will be back soon. Don鈥檛 worry.鈥� But to save law enforcement from false alarms, more handmade signs or a flashing Tesla screen might be needed, suggest Tesla owners.