Tesla Sets Record Straight On Sentinel Mode Privacy In China: 'All Data Generated By Vehicles Will Be...'

EV giant Tesla Inc TSLA on Monday responded to privacy and data concerns surrounding its sentinel mode in China.

What Happened: Tesla said in a Weibo post that the sentinel mode is turned off by default when the vehicle leaves the factory and ought to be turned on by users themselves. Once enabled, the system sends an alarm to the owner if it detects damage or theft and saves a video clip.

The data gathered by Tesla vehicles in the sentinel mode cannot be viewed by the vehicle owner or Tesla remotely online and are instead saved in the USB device in the car, the company said.

“All data generated by vehicles sold in the Chinese mainland market will be stored in China,” the company said. Tesla established a research center and a separate data center in Shanghai in 2021 to locally store operation data following a directive from the government.

Why It Matters: This is not the first time the sentinel mode has been faced with privacy concerns. Earlier this year, in February, the Dutch Data Protection Authority, or DPA, concluded its investigation into the sentry mode for a potential privacy violation.

The DPA, however, concluded the investigation with no fine or any other sanction for the EV maker.

Furthermore, there are now speculations of new Tesla data centers after the company put out a job posting for a ‘Sr. Engineering Program Manager, Data Center.’

“This role will lead the end-to-end design and engineering of Tesla’s 1st of its kind Data Centers and will be a key member of the factory engineering team,” the posting reads. The job posting lists the location of Austin, Texas where Tesla is headquartered.

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