Tesla vehicles are known for their advanced security features, specifically Dashcam and Sentry Mode, which capture video from multiple cameras around the car. Up to six angles are recorded for each clip, giving you views from the front, rear, left, right, and (on AMD-powered vehicles) both door pillars.
When enabled, Dashcam and Sentry Mode record footage in cycles, continuously overwriting older clips unless you manually save them. However, the total amount of footage recorded before it gets overwritten depends on the size of your USB drive (or SSD). According to the Tesla Owner's Manual, smaller storage drives are only good for a rolling buffer of about 1 hour. However, you can expand that window up to a whopping 24 hours.
How to Get Up to 24 Hours of Video Recording
The expanded Dashcam footage buffer rolled out globally with the Spring 2026 feature drop in software update 2026.14 last month, upping the max from just 1 hour to 24. While this extended recording history is available across the Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y, and Cybertruck, your vehicle must meet certain software and hardware requirements to unlock it:
Software update 2026.14 (or higher).
Hardware 3 (HW3) or higher with an AMD Ryzen infotainment unit.
A compatible USB drive or solid-state drive (SSD) with a capacity of 1 TB or more.
While a 24-hour recording buffer gives you a wider safety net if you forget to save a clip after an incident, it also poses a unique privacy risk. If a bad actor breaks into your car and steals the physical storage drive, a 24-hour video history would give them access to your home address, your workplace, your daily commute routes, and locations you visited over the previous day.
To combat this, Tesla introduced automatic dashcam clip encryption in software update 2026.20. It’s enabled by default, but you can disable it in Controls > Safety.
Update 2026.20
Percent of Fleet
Installs Yesterday
You can watch your vehicle's recorded videos on the main touchscreen or in the Tesla app on mobile. Tesla recently even added a new telemetry overlay to Dashcam clips that displays vehicle data like speed, steering angle, and Self-Driving state in real time. If you want to watch the videos on a computer, unencrypted footage works with standard media players, but you’ll have to use Tesla’s new online Dashcam Viewer at https://dashcam.tesla.com/ to access encrypted clips.
Tesla USB Drives
Tesla vehicles did not always come with a storage drive out of the factory, but they have for several years now. Vehicles manufactured from 2020 onward come equipped with a pre-formatted, Tesla-branded USB flash drive plugged into the port inside the glove box.
The stock drive included with today's vehicles is a Samsung-manufactured 128GB unit. While 128GB is more than enough for basic usage and a standard 1-hour cycle, it’s far too small for the new 24-hour rolling video buffer.
What to Look For in a Storage Drive
If you want to upgrade your storage to capture a full day of continuous footage, you need to know exactly what to look for.
First, target a capacity of at least 1 TB. Second, look for a drive that supports USB 3.0 read and write speeds (or higher) to handle saving multiple video files simultaneously. Third, look for physical durability. While flash-based storage like USB drives and SSDs, unlike mechanical hard drives, is natively resilient to the constant vibrations, bumps, and rocking that come with daily driving, anything you choose must be able to withstand cabin temperature shifts and the stress of constant data overwrites. Finally, ensure the drive has a standard USB-A interface, as that’s what the media storage port inside your Tesla’s glove box uses.
USB Drive Recommendations
If you want to stick with a standard flash drive form factor, the Samsung BAR Plus USB drive is an excellent choice. It’s the same stick that Tesla rebrands for its factory drives, but it is available in larger capacities of up to 512 GB. It features a rugged metal casing for durability and utilizes a USB 3.1 interface with speeds up to 400 MB/s.
That said, if you’re gunning for the full 24 hours of recording capacity, you’re going to need a 1 TB drive or larger. 1 TB USB sticks are unusually expensive, and at that capacity, you’re better off getting an SSD anyway. For maximum longevity and performance, a portable solid-state drive like the Samsung T7 Shield makes an excellent choice. These drives offer read/write speeds up to 1,050 MB/s over a USB 3.2 Gen 2 connection, and they’re ruggedized to handle cabin temperatures while withstanding the stress of constant data overwrites.
Even if you choose not to buy a 1 TB drive (they do cost a pretty penny, and we’re still in an AI-driven NAND shortage), upgrading to a slightly larger drive, such as this 256GB Samsung USB drive, could still be worth it. You’d be able to store more saved clips before you run out of storage space and your Tesla stops recording new footage.
If you remove your USB drive often, you may also want to consider using a USB extension cable. It makes your USB drive much more accessible and easier to remove and, especially, to plug back in.
If you’d like more choices, check out our full list of USB drive recommendations that are reliable and heat-resistant for use in a vehicle.
While you have your USB drive out, be sure to check out our growing list of custom lock sounds or manage local music files.
