Tesla's Camp Mode: A Comprehensive Guide

Tesla's Camp Mode allows you to maintain USB ports powered and keep the climate running

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Say you’re cruising down a deserted highway in your Tesla and you’re starting to get sleepy, or you’re taking a road trip through a national park and the nearest hotel is too far away… so you pull out your mattress from your trunk, fold your backseats down and get ready to spend the night in the comfort of your car. The next thing you do is turn on Camp Mode.

When your Tesla is in Camp Mode it will maintain the optimum temperature and airflow inside the cabin (which you can adjust to your convenience). Your lighting setup will also be maintained, and even the music if you want to listen to some chill tunes while you relax inside your car.

Camp also keeps your low voltage outlet and USB ports powered so that you can charge or use your electronic devices.

The touchscreen also remains on so you can play music, browse the internet, play games in the arcade, or watch shows in Tesla Theater (requires Premium Connectivity or Wi-Fi).

Sentry Mode and Alarm

While Camp Mode is active, Sentry Mode and the vehicle alarm system are disabled, as well as auto lock (so you don’t have to constantly lock and unlock the car as you come and go). Because of this it might be a good idea to manually lock the car when you go to sleep.

How to Turn Camp Mode On

To enable camp mode, set your car to park, tap the temperature icon at the bottom of the screen and then tap on ‘Camp’.

You can also enable it using the Tesla app. Tap the Climate section, slide up the bottom drawer and select the ‘Camp’ option.

Turning Camp Mode Off

To turn Camp Mode off simply shift the vehicle out of Park or disable the mode either via your smartphone or by tapping on the temperature icon at the bottom of your screen and selecting a different mode.

Some drivers recommend creating a Camp driver profile, which automatically sets your preferences for when you're ready to crash for the night. Make any necessary modifications, such as moving the seats all the way forward, and then select your chosen temperature.

How Much Power does it Drain?

In an eight-hour period, the typical battery consumption of Camp Mode is roughly 10% of the charge. The battery will be consumed more quickly if it is really cold or there is bad weather, simply because the car will have to work harder to maintain the interior temperature you've selected.

Even at low temperatures for an eight-hour period, you're looking at a 15 percent usage rate.

Tesla’s vehicles equipped with heat pumps like Tesla Model Y or the 2021 Model 3 should be slightly more efficient while in Camp Mode.

The power drain of Camp Mode, however, is not an exact science, and it will vary greatly depending on many factors such as outside temperature and in-cabin settings - don’t risk depleting your battery.

If you’re staying at an RV park it is good to remember that many of them offer an option to charge your electric vehicle, which would be the ideal condition to run Camp Mode in.

What Happens if the Battery Gets too Low?

You cannot use Camp Mode if the battery percentage goes below 20%, in order to save the battery from depletion and allow you to reach the nearest charging station.

Which Models have Camp Mode?

All current and past Tesla vehicles have Camp Mode as a standard feature. It is also not required to have access to Tesla's Premium Connectivity in order to receive notifications regarding Camp Mode, or to enable it from your smartphone.

Also be sure to check out our in-depth look at Dog Mode if you haven't already.

For a comparison of how Dog Mode compares to Camp Mode and Keep Climate On, check out our article on the feature comparison between the three climate modes.

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Tesla Increases Price of Model S; Starts Offering Free Lifetime Supercharging

Not a Tesla App

For the first time in quite a while, Tesla has increased the price of one of its vehicle offerings. The Model S Long Range and the Model S Plaid have both received a hefty price increase. However, not all is bad - as Tesla also added a new benefit for buyers.

Price Increase

The price increase for the Model S is $5,000 - currently only in the United States. This price increase will likely impact other markets, including Canada, in the coming days.

The Model S Long Range now starts at $79,990, while the Model S Plaid now starts at $94,990. The Model S and Model X now have the same starting price. Interestingly, that’s also the same pricing point for the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast Trimotor non-Foundation Series. 

The vehicle configuration does not appear to have changed, so the new pricing is simply an increase rather than the addition or removal of features. Tesla previously cut the price of the Model S and Model X by 15% in 2023, so this could simply be an adjustment to ensure that the vehicle pricing stays in line with inflation and other factors.

Free Lifetime Supercharging

For those on the fence about ordering a Model S, Tesla has brought back Free Lifetime Supercharging when you order a new Model S on or after December 13, 2024. As always, Free Lifetime Supercharging is restricted to the buyer’s Tesla account and to that specific vehicle. It cannot be transferred to another vehicle or another owner after ownership transfer. It’s worth noting, that it also doesn’t exclude the owner from receiving Supercharger idle fees or congestion fees. There is currently no end date for this promotion.

There are currently no changes to the Model X, neither a price increase nor the addition of Lifetime Superchargering. However, when Tesla makes changes to one of their premium vehicles, it usually affects the other one as well. So be on the lookout for potential changes to the Model X offering in the coming days.

We’ve seen Tesla value Lifetime Supercharging at $5,000, so this falls in line with the price increase we’re seeing. It’s possible that Tesla will begin to bring back Lifetime Supercharging as a perk for buying into their more premium Model S and Model X cars, or this could be another temporary promotion to get buyers who are on the fence to go ahead and make their purchase while this promotion lasts.

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Tesla’s Optimus Robot Learns to Walk Without Vision [VIDEO]

Optimus Falls - but catches itself!

Not a Tesla App

Tesla recently showed off a demo of Optimus, its humanoid robot, walking around in moderately challenging terrain—not on a flat surface but on dirt and slopes. These things can be difficult for a humanoid robot, especially during the training cycle.

Daily walks help clear your mind pic.twitter.com/dUsW58trS6

— Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) December 9, 2024

A Look Behind the Curtain

Most interestingly, Milan Kovac, VP of Engineering for Optimus, clarified what it takes to get Optimus to this stage. Let’s break down what he said.

Optimus is Blind

Optimus is getting seriously good at walking now - it can keep its balance over uneven ground - even while walking blind. Tesla is currently using just the sensors, all powered by a neural net running on the embedded computer. 

Essentially, Tesla is building Optimus from the ground up, relying on as much additional data as possible while it trains vision. This is similar to how they train FSD on vehicles, using LiDAR rigs to validate the vision system’s accuracy. While Optimus doesn’t have LiDAR, it relies on all those other sensors on board, many of which will likely become simplified as vision takes over as the primary sensor.

Today, Optimus is walking blind, but it’s able to react almost instantly to changes in the terrain underneath it, even if it falls or slips. 

What’s Next?

Next up, Tesla AI will be adding vision to Optimus - helping complete the neural net. Remember, Optimus runs on the same overall AI stack as FSD - in fact, Optimus uses an FSD computer and an offshoot of the FSD stack for vision-based tasks.

Milan mentions they’re planning on adding vision to help the robot plan ahead and improve its walking gait. While the zombie shuffle is iconic and a little bit amusing, getting humanoid robots to walk like humans is actually difficult.

There’s plenty more, too - including better responsiveness to velocity and direction commands and learning to fall and stand back up. Falling while protecting yourself to minimize damage is something natural to humans - but not exactly natural to something like a robot. Training it to do so is essential in keeping the robot, the environment around it, and the people it is interacting with safe.

We’re excited to see what’s coming with Optimus next because it is already getting started in some fashion in Tesla’s factories.

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