EVWire brief: Tesla’s newest over-the-air software update includes the Child Left Alone Detection: if an unattended child is detected, the vehicle will flash the exterior indicator lights, play an alert tone, and send a notification to your Tesla app. This will repeat at regular intervals until you return to your vehicle.
Cabin data is processed locally and is not transmitted to Tesla. The system was previously used to just detect front-seat occupants, but now covers the rear seats as well.
Tesla’s Owner manual says: Cabin radar can detect the presence of people inside the vehicle and use the measurements to determine occupancy. Cabin radar supports certain vehicle and safety features, including driver detection, seat occupancy, Occupant Classification System (OCS), and auto parking brake engagement.”
According to the NHTSA, more than 1000 children have died of heatstroke over the last 25 years because they were left or trapped inside a hot car, and 39 just last year.
This is rolling out in the Update 2025.14.12 for Teslas with an in-cabin-radar worldwide, starting with Model 3s from mid-2023 and later in Europe initially.
Tesla isn’t the only one with the feature — Hyundai already launched a very similar feature last year. We hope the whole automotive industry adapts this as soon as possible.
In Teslas, after the update, the feature is enabled by default. To disable, go to Controls > Safety > Child Left Alone Detection.
Source: NotaTeslaApp release notes, Tesla.
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