Two Dogs Managed to Get Out of a Cybertruck in Dog Mode. But Did Tesla Have Anything to Do With It?
Tesla’s Dog Mode is a blessing for Tesla owners with four-legged companions. It allows you to leave a pet in the car for a short time, with the air conditioning on and the windows locked. A message appears on the car’s display, explaining to passersby that Dog Mode is enabled and there is no need to break the window to save the pet.
Everything is pretty well thought out to make life easier for drivers and protect animals. Except that dogs are not devoid of intelligence or mischief and some do not stay still. An American Cybertruck owner had the unfortunate experience: his dogs ran away from his electric pickup while Dog Mode was activated.
« Well, it happened. I left my two dogs in the pickup truck in Dog Mode and while I was eating breakfast at the restaurant, I got an alert on my phone that the door had opened. One of the dogs pushed the door button and they managed to push the door open and get out, and yes, they ran away. I had help getting the dogs back, but what a joke ” he says on a user forum on July 21, 2024, in a message urging others to exercise caution.
The problem comes from the Cybertruck in Dog Mode
How could this happen? Well, to understand it, just look at what the door release button looks like inside the Cybertruck. In all other Teslas, the button is tilted on the interior handles. In the Cybertruck, it is placed flat on one of the door pillars. It is easy to imagine a dog being able to put a paw there and accidentally press the button.
In the comments (6 pages per hour when we write these lines, July 24), Internet users argue about the possibility of making a dog mode that would lock the front doors from the inside. On the one hand, this would indeed solve the problem of dogs running away. On the other hand, it would be a safety problem for the occupants: a car must be able to be opened from the inside, even when locked, in the event of a problem (a fire, for example) — with the exception of the rear doors, which can be locked completely to keep children safe, among other things.
To this last objection, some owners say: yes but it’s a dog mode! “, implying that it is not supposed to be activated when there are humans in the cabin. This is also what the Tesla user manual : « This setting should not be used for people and should only be activated for short periods during which you remain close to the vehicle so that you can intervene quickly if the temperature can no longer be maintained ».
It prevents that Tesla owners use it as a default mode when leaving the vehicle and that they leave, for example, their children or friends inside to run a quick errand. This is the easiest way, on a Tesla, to leave people inside who do not have the smartphone that unlocks the vehicle without triggering the alarm. Therefore, if this is a possible user behavior, it is understandable that Tesla does not want to take the risk of locking a human in a vehicle.
It is difficult to correct a problem that affects the safety of people.
So what to do? For one, it seems that the problem is much more prevalent on the Cybertruck, due to the 180-degree angle of the opening button. One user on the forum suggests to 3D print small cacheswhich will prevent dogs from pressing on it.
On the software side, however, it is difficult to imagine Tesla taking a risk on passenger safety by creating a real dog modeas another user suggests, and which would cut off any opening from inside the pickup. This would require the company to find a way to detect the presence of a human on board — perhaps with the webcam that films the interior. Or, simply leave in operation only the physical emergency handles that even humans do not know about.
In the meantime, it may be advisable to secure a dog inside a Tesla with its leash when left alone with Dog Mode enabled.
Source: www.numerama.com
