How to View Tesla Dashcam Footage [Model X, Model 3, and Model Y]

This article will show you how to use and view Tesla Dashcam footage, and if you can't find Dashcam footage, how to recover the lost or deleted Tesla Dashcam footage with EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac.

Table of Contents

Tesla Dashcam records video footage of your vehicle's surroundings when you are driving a Tesla car. It is used to record notable events when you are driving. How to view Tesla Dashcam footage? Here are 4 effective ways to view Tesla Dashcam footage:

🏆Fix 1. View Tesla Dashcam Footage with Software

This is the most powerful method, as it allows you to view deleted Tesla Dashcam footage clips.
🚗Fix 2. View Tesla Dashcam Footage on Touchscreen It's the easiest and fastest way to check Tesla Dashcam footage clips when you're parked.
💻Fix 3. View Tesla Dashcam Footage on Mac When the USB storage is running low, you can back it up on your Mac and format it for further use.
📱Fix 4. View Tesla Dashcam Footage on iPhone It allows you to view Tesla Dashcam videos without transferring the USB drive to your computer.

Add the Dashcam app to the bottom bar of the Tesla Model X, Model 3, or Model Y touchscreen to access Tesla Dashcam footage conveniently. Is Tesla Dashcam footage always recording? The answer is no; it does not record videos when Dashcam is Off. In order to protect your privacy, footage recorded by Tesla Dashcam is saved locally to a formatted USB flash drive and won't be sent to Tesla.

How to View Tesla Dashcam Footage on Touchscreen, Mac, iPhone

Before learning how to view the Tesla Dashcam footage, you should follow three parts to use the Tesla Dashcam: format the USB drive, insert it, and enable the Tesla Dashcam. To make it easier to understand, we added a video tutorial here; check it out:

  • 02:36 - What is Dashcam
  • 02:55 - Optimize Sentry Mode and Dashcam Settings
  • 06:03 - Using Dash Cam
  • 07:17 - Removing Sentry Mode/Dashcam Footage from your Tesla

Once the recording is saved, you can access Tesla camera footage clips on the touchscreen or your MacBook. Or you can insert the Tesla USB into your computer to view the footage clips.

🏆How to View Tesla Dashcam Footage with Software

Dashcam footage helps drivers check their driving conditions and, in the unfortunate event of an accident, it helps the judicial authorities figure out the cause and effect of the accident.

To view the Tesla Dashcam footage on your device, you can find numerous ways, but the easiest way must be using EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac Pro, which can cut out the complicated process and directly view all files on your Tesla Dashcam storage space, including hidden, lost, and deleted footage.

The Tesla Dashcam will not save recordings when it is short of space. In this case, most users may delete the early footage to free up space on the USB drive. As a result, your Tesla Dashcam footage may be lost or deleted.

Even if your dashcam storage device (including SD card, external disk, etc.) has been damaged (partition corruption or RAW format), it can quickly read the recoverable data on it. In addition, the EaseUS software can help you view the deleted Tesla Dashcam footage and, if necessary, recover Tesla Dashcam footage on a Mac quickly.

It supports USB recovery Mac and recovers various video types from the external USB drives, including recovering deleted ring videos, dashcam footage recovery, etc. Besides, if your USB drive is corrupted, the EaseUS Mac data recovery software can fix a corrupted USB on a Mac.

Here are detailed steps to recover your deleted Tesla Dashcam footage on Mac:

Step 1. Connect your USB drive to your Mac

Correctly connect your USB flash drive to your Mac. Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac. Start selecting the flash drive and click "Search for lost files" to let the software scan for lost files on it.

Note: Before data recovery, you'd better click "Disk Backup" from the left sidebar to create a backup of your USB drive to avoid further data loss. After backing up the USB drive, the software can recover data from your USB drive backup, and you can remove the USB flash drive and use it again.

select your USB drive and search for lost files

Step 2. Find lost data on the USB drive

After the scan, all files will be presented in the left panel in the scan results.

Find lost data on USB using the filter function

Step 3. Recover data from flash drive

Select the files you want to recover and click the "Recover" button. Don't save the recoverable files to the USB drive itself in case of data overwriting.

recover flash drive data

🚗How to View Tesla Dashcam Footage on Touchscreen

When you park your car, you can view the recording from the Tesla Dashcam. Follow the steps below:

Step 1. Touch the Dashcam icon on the touchscreen.

Dashcam icon

Tesla Dashcam allows you to select different modes to save footage; check out the following three modes and choose the suitable one for you:

🤖Auto: Dashcam automatically saves a recording to the USB drive when Model X detects a safety-critical event, such as a collision or airbag deployment.

👉Manual: You must manually touch the Dashcam icon to save a recording of the most recent ten minutes of footage.

🔊On Honk: When you press the horn, Dashcam saves a recording of the most recent ten minutes of footage. You can enable this along with Auto or Manual. - Tesla Dashcam Official Website

Step 2. Touch the menu icon on the screen, and the tabs display your recording video clips. On this page, you organize videos, including pausing, rewinding, and deleting them.

view Tesla Dashcam footage Touchbar

Note: Videos can't be saved on the USB drive as it runs out of space, so you should remove the early videos after backing them up on other storage devices or format Tesla USB on Mac.

Share this article on social media to help others learn more about how to view Tesla Dashcam footage on the touchscreen, Mac, and iPhone app.

 

💻How to View Tesla Dashcam Footage on a Mac

To access the footage on your computer, you should follow the steps below:

Step 1. Insert the USB into your Mac, and press "Command + Space" to launch "Disk Utility". Or you can go to "Finder > Applications > Disk Utility".

disk utility

Step 2. Choose the USB drive on the left panel, and open it.

Step 3. And you can see a folder called TeslaCam. Your Dashcam footage clips are saved in the sub-folders of TeslaCam.

Teslacam folder on Mac

However, sometimes the error occurs, and your Mac does not detect the USB drive. In this condition, your Mac may remind you, "Mac First Aid found corruption need repaired", if so, follow the screen instruction to repair the USB drive. Or you can check out the following article to solve the error USB drive not showing.

USB drive not showing up Mac

USB Flash Drive Not Showing Up on Mac, Why and How to Fix

This article will discuss 10 solutions to help you fix the problem of USB flash drive not showing up on Mac. Read more >>

📱How to View Tesla Dashcam Footage on iPhone

Oftentimes, you don't have a computer nearby, but if you want to check out dashcam footage, you may consider using a mobile app to do so. To view Tesla Dashcam footage on your iPhone, check out the steps here:

Step 1. Install the Tesla mobile app in the App Store.

Step 2. Turn on the "View Live Camera via Mobile App" option, which allows you to view Sentry videos and Dashcam videos generated without transferring the USB drive to your computer.

view Tesla Dashcam footage via app

Extra Tips to Avoid Data Loss from Tesla Dashcam Footage

The main reason for the loss of dashcam footage data is USB damage and insufficient storage space. In order to better protect your footage clips, you can refer to Tesla's official USB basic requirements. Besides, you can frequently back up the Tesla Dashcam footage clips to avoid data loss.

Here are the USB drive requirements for recording videos with Tesla Dashcam:

  • Minimum storage capacity of 64 GB
  • At least 4 MB/s sustained write speed
  • USB 2.0 compatible

In addition, you should format the USB to the correct format, such as exFAT. You can insert the Tesla USB into your computer and use Disk Utility to format it. Follow the steps here to correctly format the USB:

Step 1. Click the "Erase" option on the top menu, and you can see a confirmation window showing up. Be careful selecting the Tesla USB drive but don't accidentally erase external hard drive Disk Utility.

Step 2. Type the name of the USB drive, and choose "ExFAT" in the Format box.

choose-exfat

Step 3. Click "Erase" again to format USB to exFAT on Mac.

Note: If your USB stores data before, you should back up the USB to avoid data loss. If you forget to do this before formatting, don't worry. Here's a video guide on how to recover Tesla dashcam footage on a Mac. Take a look at this video to learn the details about recovering your Tesla videos!

recover Tesla dashcam footage
 

After correctly formatting the Tesla USB, you should insert the USB drive into a front USB port in your Tesla vehicle, and it will be recognized soon. Make sure when you touch "Controls" on the touchscreen, the Dashcam icon is available, which means it's ready to record footage.

Conclusion

You should format a USB drive and insert it into the front port of your Tesla vehicle, and then ensure the Dashcam is turned on. To view the Tesla Dashcam footage quickly, you can add the Dashcam icon to the bottom bar of the touchscreen, or you can insert the USB drive into your MacBook can use Finder to locate the folder TeslarCam.

Pay attention that the footage won't be saved when the USB lacks storage space, so you should keep frequently deleting the older footage to free up space on the USB drive. If you accidentally deleted essential footage clips, use EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac Pro to recover the deleted video clips.

How to View Tesla Dashcam Footage FAQs

Here are questions people frequently ask when they search for how to view Tesla Dashcam footage:

1. How do I watch a Tesla Dashcam recording on a Mac?

Follow the steps below to watch a Tesla Dashcam recording on Mac:

Step 1. Insert the USB drive into your Mac.

Step 2. Go to "Finder > Applications > Disk Utility".

Step 3. Find the folder called TeslaCam on the USB drive. Open it to find your Tesla Dashcam.

2. Can you view the Tesla Dashcam on your iPhone?

Yes, you can install the Tesla mobile app in the App Store, which allows you to view Sentry videos and Dashcam videos generated by your Tesla on your iPhone without needing a computer.

3. Can I recover deleted Dashcam video clips from Tesla?

It's possible to recover deleted Tesla Dashcam video clips with professional video recovery software: EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac. Note that you should stop using the USB once you delete the clips on it; they can be recovered if the deleted clips are not overwritten.

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Updated by Brithny

Brithny is a technology enthusiast, aiming to make readers' tech lives easy and enjoyable. She loves exploring new technologies and writing technical how-to tips. In her spare time, she loves sharing things about her game experience on Facebook or Twitter.

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