Question about fancy "Tesla" USB SSD that comes with MY and dashcam in general

[MrJeep997]

This fancy 128GB Tesla branded USB stick that now apparently comes with the car already in the glovebox. Is it any good? Google didn't really help.
Also, it doesn't seem to capture much on it: I just pulled it out and my one and only drive from this morning is not on it, just the last few times I woke up the car in the garage this afternoon. I have recording set to "auto" and sentry mode off. I thought it would work like the dashcam I have on our other vehicle where it will fill it up with all your recent drives so I could at least go back a few days. Will a larger one solve this or am I doing something wrong?

 

[Tgib13]

From how I understand it, the vehicle only records if it detects a collision. I think it can also be set to records if you honk.

 

[chyuan]

It will record up to an hour every time you drive out (I believe it keeps the last hour if the trip lasts more than an hour) and you can decide to save it permanently when you park the car, otherwise the dashcam recording will be replaced in the next drive. If you turn on sentry mode it will record continuously and start overwriting early record if the drive becomes full.

 

[dduffey]

I believe it is the following: Samsung BAR Plus 128GB - 300MB/s USB 3.1 Flash Drive Titan Gray (MUF-128BE4/AM) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BPG9YX9/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_g_4XZMMDSSRAQ26MD0P450?psc=1

But a larger one will not record longer dashcam drives but will allow you to store more saved recordings and sentry clips.

 

[MrJeep997]

I believe it is the following: Samsung BAR Plus 128GB - 300MB/s USB 3.1 Flash Drive Titan Gray (MUF-128BE4/AM) Amazon.com

But a larger one will not record longer dashcam drives but will allow you to store more saved recordings and sentry clips.

Nice find!
So according to the specs it is temp proof. I saw other threads where they used regular ones and they die after a few months.
Thanks all.
Hope they software fix the dashcam thing someday. That's not a true dashcam.

 

[mrwug]

So according to the specs it is temp proof. I saw other threads where they used regular ones and they die after a few months.

i haven’t seen any speculation about temperature. Everything I’ve read suspects write cycles as the culprit for failure.

 

[moa999]

It's probably better than a generic stick, but all of these sticks are designed for infrequent use.
Not the continuous recording that a sentry system uses.

From many prior discussions before Tesla started distributing these sticks, two preferred options

1. A proper SSD (Samsung T5 and T7 popular)

2. A USB to SD adapter (eg. SanDisk MobileMate) paired with a better SD card (the Pro/High Endurance ones)

 

[jcanoe]

From how I understand it, the vehicle only records if it detects a collision. I think it can also be set to records if you honk.

When Dashcam mode is active the Tesla vehicle is continuously recording video. There is a file open on the USB storage device that stores 1 hour of video. When there is an event (or honk) the Tesla Dashcam system saves the most recent 10 minute video clip. When Sentry mode is active, when the Tesla vehicle is parked, it works in a similar fashion recording video unless there is a Sentry mode event that will save the most recent 10 minutes leading up to the event.

The Tesla USB 128GB thumb drive is made by Samsung. You could choose a larger storage device but this would only enable you to store more saved Dashcam and Sentry mode event recordings. The other use for a larger storage device such as an SSD is to store a music collection. (To use the same USB storage device for Dashcam/Sentry mode and for storing music files the storage device must be partitioned. The reason is that the Tesla Dashcam/Sentry mode software mounts the USB storage drive for it's exclusive use.)

The Tesla USB thumb drive is not optimal for use with Dashcam/Sentry mode because it is not designed specifically for high number of read/write operations. A better choice would be either an SSD or a USB microSD card reader such as the SanDisk Mobilemate reader and a microSD card with either a Samsung Pro microSD card or Sandisk High or Max microSd card. These memory cards are designed for video applications such as dashcam recording and video surveillance where the card must be able to perform a high number of read/write operations. I would expect that the Tesla USB thumb drive would not last more than 1 year, probably even less when used for Dashcam/Sentry mode recording.

 

[EVer Hopeful]

Interesting. I saw on the Abstract Ocean website that they have a pass-through thing that you can plug into the USB slot and it presents an open USB slot, but also has a place where you can insert an SD card

 

[Driver08]

Interesting. I saw on the Abstract Ocean website that they have a pass-through thing that you can plug into the USB slot and it presents an open USB slot, but also has a place where you can insert an SD card

I use this USB Console Hub, which plugs in to the two USB-C ports in the center console and fits snugly against the back of the compartment. There's a slot for a SD card in the bottom of the hub, and 3 USB-C ports and 2 USB-A ports are easily accessible from the top. There are a lot of options out there but i didn't want a dongle and wanted to maximize the useful space in the compartment, and this multiplies connectivity options nicely.

 

[EVer Hopeful]

thx - I'll take a look

 

[telsasan]

This fancy 128GB Tesla branded USB stick that now apparently comes with the car already in the glovebox. Is it any good? Google didn't really help.
Also, it doesn't seem to capture much on it: I just pulled it out and my one and only drive from this morning is not on it, just the last few times I woke up the car in the garage this afternoon. I have recording set to "auto" and sentry mode off. I thought it would work like the dashcam I have on our other vehicle where it will fill it up with all your recent drives so I could at least go back a few days. Will a larger one solve this or am I doing something wrong?
View attachment 736943

I think I'm having a similar issue to yours.

On mulitple occasions when I toggle to the security section on screen, I notice that the usb formatting option is greyed out. I opened the glovebox to wiggle the stick around to try and have it come back. It does. When the greyed out 'usb formating' option toggles back on I notice the red dot that appears in the dashcam icon on the top right. This disconnect happens every time I get in/out of the car. I figured something was wrong with my USB port. My Model Y came without the front USB-Cs and the iPhone charging port. Tried to set a service appointment but parts have yet to come in for USB replacement.

Any body else notice a faulty glovebox USB port? or, have some what of the same issue?