Model 3

2021 Tesla Model 3 Interior Storage and Electronics Owners Manual

Contents hide

1 2021 Tesla Model 3 Interior Storage and Electronics

2 Center Console

3 Second Row Console

4 Glovebox

5 Wireless Phone Charger

6 Low Voltage Power Socket

7 USB Ports

8 USB Drive Requirements for Recording Videos

8.1 Formatting a USB Flash Drive

8.2 Viewing Video Recordings

9 Coat Hangers

2021 Tesla Model 3 Interior Storage and Electronics

Center Console

In addition to housing an RFID transmitter that reads key fobs and key cards (see Key Card), the center console includes cup holders, two storage compartments, and a wireless phone charger.

To open the main storage compartment, pull its cover upward. Open the front storage compartment by sliding its cover forward.

Second Row Console

Your Model 3 has a rear console integrated in the center of the second row seat back. Pull the console down to access the rear cup holders, or use it as an armrest.

Glovebox

To open the glovebox, touch Controls > Glovebox. The glovebox automatically opens and its light turns on.

To close the glove box, push it upward until it clicks into its closed position.

For additional glovebox security, touch Controls > Safety > Glovebox PIN to set a 4-digit PIN (see Glovebox PIN).

Note

If you leave the glove box open, its light eventually turns off. The glovebox locks whenever closed and you lock Model 3 using the mobile app, key card, you leave Model 3 carrying your phone key (if Walk-Away Door Lock is turned on), or if Valet mode is active (see Valet Mode). It does not lock when Model 3 is locked by touching the lock icon on the touchscreen.

Warning

When driving, keep the glove box closed to prevent injury to a passenger if a collision or sudden stop occurs.

Wireless Phone Charger

A wireless phone charger is integrated into the front console to provide up to 15W of power to charge a Qi-enabled phone. Simply place your phone on the charger. Your device may feel warm while charging, but this is a normal effect of inductive charging. When placed on the wireless charger, your phone charges whenever the vehicle is powered on (the touchscreen is on and you are in the vehicle). Your phone will not charge after exiting the vehicle unless a feature (such as Sentry mode) is enabled and therefore provides power to the USB ports (see Using Sentry Mode). Model 3 will also not charge a phone if the vehicle’s battery is discharged.

Note

The wireless phone charger may not work if your phone case is too large or is made of metal. Try removing the phone from its case before placing in the charger.

CAUTION

The phone must be in direct contact with the wireless charger. Do not place objects between the phone and the charger (for example, credit cards, key cards, coins, keys, metal objects, etc.).

Low Voltage Power Socket

Your Model 3 has a power socket located in the center console’s rear compartment.

The power socket is suitable for accessories requiring up to 12A continuous draw (16A peak).

Note

For vehicles manufactured after approximately November 2021, power inverters plugged into the low voltage power socket must support 16V DC input to function. Power is available whenever the vehicle is considered “awake”. The vehicle may be awake for many reasons. For example, when using features such as Summon, or when features such as Preconditioning, Cabin Overheat Protection, Keep Climate On, Dog Mode, Camp Mode, Sentry Mode, etc. are enabled. The vehicle is also awake whenever the low voltage battery is being charged or is in use, during HV charging, when the vehicle is communicating with the mobile app, etc. Leaving an accessory plugged in does not deplete the low voltage battery.

Warning

The power socket and an accessory’s connector can become hot. To prevent excessive interference with the vehicle’s electronics, Tesla recommends that you do not plug any non-Tesla accessories, including power inverters, into the low voltage power socket. However, if you do use a non-Tesla accessory and notice any malfunctions or unexpected behavior, such as indicator lights, alert messages, or excessive heat from the accessory, unplug the accessory from the low voltage power socket immediately. Do not attempt to jump start Model 3 using the low voltage power socket. Doing so can result in damage.

USB Ports

Model 3 has two USB ports located in the front compartment of the center console. These ports can be used to:

Connect and charge USB devices.
Play audio files stored on a phone or USB device (see Playing Media from Devices).
For saving Sentry Mode and Dashcam video footage, use the USB port located in the glove box. Doing so increases security and minimizes power consumption.

Note

For some vehicles manufactured after approximately November 1, 2021, the center console USB ports may only support charging devices. Use the USB port inside the glove box for all other functions.

Both ports are USB-C compatible.

Open the front compartment of the center console. The front USB ports are located on the rear wall of the compartment.

A USB port is also located at the rear of the glovebox. This USB-A port is equipped with a pre-formatted flash drive, ready to save videos when using features such as Sentry Mode and Dashcam. Although not its primary purpose, this port can also communicate with the vehicle and can be used to charge a USB-connected device.

Two additional USB ports are located in the rear of the center console (on vehicles manufactured since approximately June 2020, these ports are USB-C). These ports charge USB-connected devices but do not communicate with the vehicle.

Note

Power is available whenever the vehicle is considered “awake”. The vehicle may be awake for many reasons. For example, when using features such as Summon, or when features such as Preconditioning, Keep Climate On, Dog Mode, Camp Mode, Sentry Mode, etc. are enabled. The vehicle is also awake whenever the low voltage battery is being charged or is in use, during HV charging, when the vehicle is communicating with the mobile app, etc. Leaving an accessory plugged in does not deplete the low voltage battery. Use USB 3.0 compliant cables to connect a device to a USB port. Using non-compliant cables can result in slower charging, potential connection problems or degraded performance. Do not connect multiple devices using a USB hub. This can prevent connected devices from charging or from being recognized by Media Player, Sentry Mode, Dashcam, etc.

USB Drive Requirements for Recording Videos

Note

For saving Sentry Mode and Dashcam footage, Tesla recommends using the USB port located in the glovebox. Doing so increases security and minimizes power consumption.

One or more features on your Model 3 requires the use of a flash drive (for example, Dashcam, Sentry Mode and Track Mode (if equipped) that meets these requirements:

Minimum storage capacity of 64 GB. Use a flash drive with as much available storage as possible. Video footage can occupy a large amount of space.
A sustained write speed of at least 4 MB/s. Note that sustained write speed differs from peak write speed.
USB 2.0 compatible. If using a USB 3.0 flash drive, it must support USB 2.0.
Properly formatted (described below).

Note

In some market regions you can purchase recommended USB drives on http://www.tesla.com.

Formatting a USB Flash Drive

To save and retrieve video footage, Model 3 requires a USB flash drive formatted as exFAT, MS-DOS FAT (for Mac), ext3, or ext4 (NTFS is currently not supported). For use with Dashcam and Sentry Mode, the flash drive must contain a base-level folder called TeslaCam and for use with Track Mode (if equipped), the flash drive must contain a base-level folder called TeslaTrackMode.

Model 3 can format a USB flash drive for you. Insert the flash drive into a front USB port, and touch Controls > Safety > Format USB Drive. Doing so automatically formats the drive as exFAT and creates a folder for TeslaCam and TeslaTrackMode (if equipped). The USB flash drive is now ready to record and save video footage. Format USB Drive is available only when a USB flash drive (with one or fewer partitions) is inserted into a front USB port. Choosing a Format USB Drive erases any existing content on the flash drive—before using this feature, you must move any content you want to keep to a different device.

Note

For some vehicles manufactured after approximately November 1, 2021, the center console USB ports may only support charging devices. Use the USB port inside the glove box for all other functions. If Model 3 is unable to format the flash drive, you must format it using a computer. Remember to manually create the TeslaCam folder, and the TeslaTrackMode folder (if equipped). You can also format the USB flash drive with a computer to use a single flash drive for Dashcam, Sentry Mode, Track Mode (if equipped), and audio files. Create separate partitions on the drive formatted as exFAT; for example, one for Dashcam and Sentry Mode (you must create the TeslaCam folder), one for Track Mode (create the TeslaTrackMode folder), and an audio partition.

Once the USB flash drive is formatted and contains the necessary folder(s), insert it into a front (or glovebox, if equipped) USB port. Do not use a rear USB port— these are used only to charge USB devices. Once inserted, it can take up to 15 seconds for Model 3 to recognize the flash drive. When recognized, icons for Dashcam and Sentry Mode are available when you touch Controls and your vehicle is ready to record videos. You may need to first enable Sentry Mode (if equipped) by touching Controls > Sentry.

Viewing Video Recordings

You can view recorded footage on the touchscreen when Model 3 is in Park. Touch the Dashcam icon located in the app launcher or the Dashcam icon on the Controls screen. Touch the menu icon in the top corner of the screen. The tabs display a list of all video clips, organized by location and timestamp. Pause, rewind, fast forward, and delete video recordings as needed. You can also navigate to Controls > Safety > Delete Dashcam Clips to delete all dashcam and Sentry Mode footage, including recent and saved clips.

Note

Dashcam recording pauses when you launch the Viewer. You can also view video footage by removing and inserting the USB flash drive into a computer and navigating to the TeslaCam or TeslaTrackMode (if equipped) folder.

The TeslaCam folder contains three sub-folders:

Recent Clips: When recording, Dashcam continuously saves footage to Recent Clips in 60-minute cycles. Footage is overwritten every hour unless you manually save it. Four videos are recorded for each clip, one from each camera (front, rear, left, and right).

Note

Rear camera recordings are available only on vehicles manufactured after approximately February 2018.
Saved Clips: Contains all recordings that are saved using Dashcam.
Sentry Clips: Contains the last 10 minutes of footage from all Sentry Mode events that triggered an Alert or Alarm state. If storage space on the USB flash drive becomes limited, the oldest Sentry Clips are deleted to provide space for new ones. Once deleted, you cannot retrieve them.

When the USB flash drive runs out of storage space, video footage can no longer be saved. To prevent the flash drive from getting full, regularly move saved videos to another device and delete them from the flash drive.