Tesla is set to overhaul its dashcam feature with a new dynamic recording system that adjusts footage retention based on USB drive capacity. This update, starting in China, will allow owners with larger drives to keep up to 24 hours of video before overwriting. The change addresses long-standing complaints about the previous one-hour limit.
Tesla owners have long grumbled about the dashcam's restrictive one-hour cap on rolling footage, which overwrites recordings regardless of USB drive size and even continues during parked periods via Sentry Mode. This limitation often led to lost evidence of incidents if not saved promptly.
An upcoming software update, detailed in release notes from China, introduces 'Dynamic Recording Duration.' The system now scales the Recent Clips buffer according to the connected USB drive's storage: approximately three hours for a 128GB drive and up to 24 hours for 1TB or larger drives. Saved dashcam or Sentry Mode clips will count against available space, ensuring optimal use.
The release notes explain: 'The dashcam dynamically adjusts the recording duration based on the available storage capacity of the connected USB drive. For example, with a 128 GB USB drive, the maximum recording duration is approximately 3 hours; with a 1 TB or larger USB drive, it can reach up to 24 hours. This ensures that as much video as possible is retained for review before it gets overwritten.'
This upgrade benefits users on extended drives or those spotting damage later, potentially preserving footage for a full day. However, drives must sustain at least 4 MB/s write speeds to avoid corruption, favoring durable SSDs like the Samsung T7.
Previously, the 60-minute limit stemmed from privacy rules, especially in Europe, and hardware constraints on older USBs. With newer AI4 and AMD Ryzen processors in many vehicles, Tesla can now handle greater data loads, rewarding owners with high-capacity drives.
The feature has begun rolling out to employees in China, with wider availability there in weeks and global expansion expected soon. Details on vehicle compatibility remain unclear, though older Intel Atom systems might see reduced benefits.
