Tesla's Camp Mode: A Comprehensive Guide (2023)

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.

Cybertruck hype reached feverish levels after Investor Day. The futuristic vehicle was on display and even took some lucky people for a test drive. However, wherever there is a parade, there will surely be rain. So, Morgan Stanley's managing director advises staff to manage expectations for clients excited about investing in Tesla.

Adam Jonas, who attended Investor Day, listed five reasons why Cybertruck may not be the vehicle Elon Musk and the Tesla team dream it will be. Instead, he thinks it will be a financial "side-show," a "cultural/zeitgeist," and an "enthusiast/cult car." Let's hear him out. He is considered a Tesla Bull, despite a quick Google search showing he's been writing a bear case for Tesla for years.

Things Have Changed for Tesla

His first point is that Tesla was a different company in 2019 when Cybertruck was unveiled. When you adjust for the multiple stock splits, Tesla is worth ten times more today. He believes the company's values and goals have changed since 2019.

Tesla has changed significantly in the past four years, and the company is focused on launching a more affordable vehicle. Musk laid out his plan for a more sustainable energy future that included getting more people into electric cars, a goal that can only be achieved if those cars are affordable for more people. Unfortunately, Cybertruck is unlikely to be under the title: affordable.

How Far Can Unique Go?

The investor's next point is calling the Cybertruck the "ultimate avant-garde vehicle." He believes that the unique aspects of Cybertruck will lose some appeal when there are several on the road.

Okay, fair point. However, how many white Teslas do you see on the road today? No one seems to mind driving the same color Model 3 and Model Y. Besides, if someone is concerned about losing that "indescribable something," as Jonas puts it, they can get a wrap. Also, with rumors that the next platform may use Cybertruck's stainless steel exterior, the company doesn't seem concerned about too many stainless steel vehicles.

Restrict Cybertruck Production

To that point, the Morgan Stanley employee wonders if Tesla should restrict the production of Cybertruck. He forecasts that the production volume could ramp up to 100,000 units per year, which means it will be 2030 by the time 500,000 are on the street. He ponders if the company should limit production to 420,699 Cybertrucks.

This makes sense if his production figures are close to reality. It could take decades to fill the millions of Cybertruck orders. Look at how much things have changed in the four years since it was announced; imagine the changes that could happen before filling all those orders. These orders may fall under the same category as the long-awaited Roadster 2.0.

Price Point Concerns

In his next point, Jonas says the employee who gave him a Cybertruck ride said the vehicle weighed 7,000 pounds, equivalent to a Chevy Silverado 3500HD. That has Jonas thinking the price will be significantly higher than the first announced $39,900.

At this point, anyone who thinks they will get a Cybertruck for forty grand better forfeit their reservation now. But Jonas's point is relevant: if the price comes in too high, the waitlist will be drastically reduced by the many who put in a reservation for a $39,900 truck.

Not a Competitor for Traditional Trucks

Based on that point, Jonas doesn't think the Cybertruck he saw and rode in "poses a significant threat to the established pickup truck market."

He could be right. It will be a difficult sell if it's big, heavy, and considerably expensive. We should also note that just days before this letter to Morgan Stanley staff, Jonas dropped Tesla as his preferred U.S.-listed automaker and now backs Ferrari NV. Yes, that Ferrari, the builder of supercars.

If you are on the waiting list for a Cybertruck, it's worth considering the points Jonas has raised. However, while Cybertruck has generated significant hype and excitement, it is essential to account for the potential challenges and limitations it may face in the market. With Tesla's changing values and goals, the Cybertruck's unique design, uncertain price point, and limited production, it remains to be seen whether it will be the ultimate game-changer in the pickup truck market. But you'll have plenty of time to decide if you want to take delivery of your Cybertruck as limited production starts this summer, with a ramp-up beginning next year.

Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, tweeted that the latest Full Self-Driving Beta is “a major step change improvement. Still needs another point release of polish before rolling out wide.” That said, most of those who have taken v11.3.1 for a ride are impressed.

There are a number of options that have been added and removed with this beta, as well as new visualizations.

New Visualizations

Let’s start with the bright shiny objects - new visualizations. Anyone who has watched the ride-along on YouTube has noticed that FSD v11.3.1 looks different.

Wider Path

Firstly, the path the vehicle is taking is a much thicker line, representing the entire space the car currently occupies and will occupy in the immediate future.

Chevrons

Chevrons will also appear in the path to show the car slowing down. The opacity and speed at which the chevrons are moving change depending on how quickly the car is slowing.

Stopping Line

A white or black line will now appear in front of the Tesla to tell the supervising driver exactly where the car will stop. There’s no more guessing where the car will stop moving. This line appears as soon as the car realizes that it will have to stop, like when approaching an intersection.

Traffic Lights

The traffic lights will now sometimes appear in blue. The blue light indicates that the vehicle is obeying that traffic light. Let’s say you are turning left at an intersection with three traffic lights present; the light in front of the left lane will be blue, while the other two for traffic going straight will remain gray.

Many have observed more detailed images of the surroundings as well. This includes a rolling tire that appeared while Chuck Cook was out for a ride. As documented in the release notes, the system identifies objects differently and seemingly much more accurately.

FSD Messages

How many times have you enabled FSD, and you or your passengers asked, "what is it doing?" Well, now it tells you exactly what it is doing. For example, if it spots an intersection and a red light, it will say, "stopping for the red light." It will display various messages that make it clear what the vehicle is stopping or waiting for such as stop signs, crossing pedestrians, bicyclists and more. This addition gives us a better look into what the software is doing.

Voice Drive-Notes

This is a significant addition because the software now allows for instant driver feedback. If you must take control away from FSD, a prompt will ask you to explain what happened. You can leave an audio recording. For example, if the software says it is stopping for a red light, but you see the light is green, you can take over and tell Tesla what happened so their team can review it.

Glowing Speed Limit Sign

The speed limit sign appears in the same location, but now it will glow when the vehicle's speed exceeds the posted limit by more than 50%, for example, going 75 mph in a 50 mph zone.

Speed Limit Offset

Speaking of speed, the option to set your Autopilot speed to an absolute value over the speed limit has been removed. You used to be able to set Autopilot to travel 10 mph over the posted speed limit, which would apply in all cases. However, you'll now have to use the 'relative' option, which lets you choose a percentage value to travel above the limit. So choosing a 15% offset will let the vehicle travel at about 35 mph in a 30 zone, while in a 65 mph zone, the vehicle will travel up to 75 mph.

New 'Minimal Lane Changes' Option

There have been a lot of comments about a smoother drive experience with better, less robotic lane changes. However, if you'd like to reduce the number of lane changes the vehicle makes, there is a new option called 'Minimal Lane Changes.' This new option in the Autopilot menu reduces lane changes by having the vehicle only make a lane change when it's required to follow the route. It prevents the vehicle from making lane changes due to slow-moving traffic in its lane.

New Shortcut for Autopilot Options

With this beta, Tesla also introduced a new shortcut for some Autopilot options. When tilting the right scroll wheel left/right in previous betas, the vehicle would adjust its follow distance from 2 to 7. This option has now been removed since FSD Beta now handles the follow distance automatically on the highway.

When tilting the scroll wheel, you'll now be presented with a new set of options. They'll allow you to adjust the vehicle's FSD Profile, between Chill, Average and Assertive. This isn't new to this beta, but the ability to quickly change the FSD Profile is. In addition to being able to switch the FSD Profile, you'll also have the option to quickly enable 'Minimal Lane Changes' with this shortcut. The option will only stay enabled for the current drive. The informational box in the vehicle explains how Minimal Lane Changes works:

"When enabled, Full Self-Driving (Beta) will limit changes only to follow the navigation route or when required for safety. This option gets reset when the car is parked at the end of a drive."

Removal of 'Navigate on Autopilot'

With the introduction of FSD Beta to highway driving, Tesla has now removed the 'Navigate on Autopilot' (NoA) feature. NoA was Tesla's term for the vehicle performing lane changes to follow your route. However, with the introduction of FSD Beta v11, this option became redundant and it has now been removed with this update.

New Autopilot Menu

With this update, Tesla has redesigned the Autopilot menu to remove older options and make your options clearer.At the very top Tesla now gives owners three options for Autopilot features, they are, Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC), Autosteer, or FSD Beta.Autosteer is essentially Basic Autopilot, which will keep the vehicle's speed, brake, keep a proper follow distance and steer within the vehicle's lane.FSD Beta is the option you'll want if you want the vehicle to make lane changes to follow your route.After that, you have more FSD options, such as FSD Profile, followed by 'Lane Change Notification,' which was previously a part of Navigate on Autopilot and Speed Offset.Tesla also cleaned up some other options, removing the toggles for 'Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control' and 'Full Self-Driving Visualization Preview'.Underneath the Autopilot preferences, you then have Summon and the other usual options.

View Cabin Camera

Plus, we previously reported this undocumented feature that appeared in the first update of 2023. Surprisingly, the preview cabin camera video is also available with this update. This function, found under service, allows owners to view their cabin camera inside the vehicle. That provides some peace of mind for users so they can have an idea of what the camera can and cannot see when activated. If you have any privacy concerns, check out our article on Tesla’s Privacy Policy.

Tesla's FSD Beta v11.3.1 is an impressive step forward, with new visualizations and features that enhance the driving experience. Tesla continues to push the boundaries of self-driving technology, and the positive feedback from early users is a testament to their progress. With the upcoming wide release of v11.3.2, we can only expect more exciting updates and improvements from Tesla. Stay tuned for more updates on the future of autonomous driving.