Tesla Sentry Mode: Elon Musk Reveals Feature Will Channel ‘Rick and Morty'
The feature is expected to launch soon.
An upcoming feature for Tesla’s vehicles will make reference to Rick and Morty, CEO Elon Musk suggested on Sunday. The “Sentry Mode” is expected to provide an extra layer of security by utilizing the car’s array of cameras to detect intruders. Musk, who likes to pepper his company’s products with pop culture references, is using the release to reference one of his favorite shows.
Musk stated that, when the car detects an intruder, it will play a rendition of horror film classic “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” by Bach. The car is also expected to “keep Summer safe,” likely a reference to the sixth episode of the second season of Rick and Morty. When the titular characters explore the deepest recesses of the car battery to get it started, Rick leaves Morty’s sister in the car and instructs it to protect her (with gruesome results). It’s par for the course for Musk, who wore a shirt from the show to a shareholder meeting and met the creators in a widely-publicized event.
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Musk has a habit of building sci-fi references into his company’s products. Tesla cars feature a “Ludicrous Mode” for extra speed, a reference to ‘80s sci-fi comedy Spaceballs that the 2020 Roadster is set to take one step further with “Plaid Mode”. SpaceX’s two drone ships Of Course I Still Love You and Just Read the Instructions are a reference to the Iain M. Banks Culture novel series. The upcoming Starship rocket is even said to take inspiration from Tintin.
The “Sentry Mode” feature was announced via Twitter last week, designed for all cars based on the “Hardware 2” camera setup rolled out from October 2016. All users will be able to take advantage of the feature, even if they haven’t paid the $5,000 at purchase to unlock the semi-autonomous Autopilot driving mode, and it appears to build on the “TeslaCam” dashcam feature introduced in September 2018.
The details around “Sentry Mode” — and how it plans to keep Summer safe — will likely become clear when the company starts rolling out its planned software update.
With Musk set to include Rick and Morty in Tesla cars, it’s perhaps only a matter of time before it makes its way into the “easter egg” section.
