Alright, so you want to export your Tesla dashcam footage? That's a smart move! Whether it's for an incident, a cool drive, or just peace of mind, understanding how to access and save these recordings is super important. Let's dive in and get that footage safely off your Tesla.
Step 1: Understanding Your Tesla's Dashcam System
Before we get to the actual export, it's crucial to understand how your Tesla records and stores footage. Think of it like a continuous loop: your Tesla is always recording, but it only saves specific clips when an event occurs or you manually tell it to.
1.1. The Brains of the Operation: The USB Drive
Your Tesla's dashcam, which includes both Dashcam and Sentry Mode footage, stores everything on a USB flash drive plugged into your vehicle's USB port. Newer Teslas (approximately 2020 and later) often come with a pre-formatted USB drive in the glovebox. If yours didn't, or you want to use a different one, you'll need a USB drive with:
A minimum storage capacity of 64 GB. The more, the better, as video footage can take up a lot of space.
A sustained write speed of at least 4 MB/s. This is important for continuous recording without issues.
USB 2.0 compatible. Even if it's a USB 3.0 drive, it must support USB 2.0.
Properly formatted as exFAT, MS-DOS FAT (for Mac), ext3, or ext4 (NTFS is not currently supported). Your Tesla can also format it for you.
1.2. Where the Magic Happens: USB Port Location
For recording and viewing footage, you must use the USB-A port in the glovebox (if equipped). The USB-C ports in the center console or below the rear touchscreen are primarily for charging and generally do not support formatting, saving, or viewing video footage.
1.3. Saving Your Moments: How Footage is Stored
Tesla's Dashcam has a few ways to save footage:
Auto: The Dashcam automatically saves a recording when your Tesla detects a safety-critical event, like a collision.
Manual: You manually touch the Dashcam icon on the touchscreen (or use a voice command like "save dashcam video") to save the most recent ten minutes of footage. This is your go-to for capturing specific moments you witness.
On Honk: If enabled, pressing the horn saves the most recent ten minutes of footage. You can enable this alongside Auto or Manual.
Once saved, the footage is stored on your USB drive in the "TeslaCam" folder. Inside this, you'll typically find:
RecentClips: Contains up to 60 minutes of continuously recorded content that is constantly overwritten. If you want to save something from this, you need to do it quickly.
SavedClips: This is where all your manually saved recordings and automatically saved Sentry Mode events are stored. These clips are renamed and will not be overwritten until you delete them or the drive runs out of space.
SentryClips (for Sentry Mode footage): Similar to SavedClips, but specifically for Sentry Mode events.
Step 2: Ensuring Your Footage is Saved ✅
This is the most critical step! If the footage isn't saved, there's nothing to export.
2.1. Manually Saving Clips While Driving
If you're driving and something happens that you want to record:
Tap the Dashcam icon: This icon typically appears in your app launcher at the bottom of the touchscreen. Tapping it will save the last 10 minutes of footage to your USB drive. You can also drag this icon to your main dock for quicker access.
Voice Command: A very convenient way is to use a voice command. Simply press the microphone button on your steering wheel and say, "Save Dashcam video." This will save the recent footage.
Honk the Horn: If you have "On Honk" enabled in your Dashcam settings, a quick honk of the horn will save the last 10 minutes of footage.
2.2. Verifying Sentry Mode Saves
Sentry Mode footage is automatically saved when a security event is detected. However, it's good practice to periodically check your Sentry Mode settings to ensure it's enabled and functioning correctly. If you return to your car and see a Sentry Mode event notification, it means footage has been saved.
2.3. Checking Dashcam Status
The Dashcam icon on your Tesla's screen will change to indicate its status:
RECORDING: Dashcam is actively recording. Touch the icon to save footage.
AVAILABLE: Dashcam is ready but not actively recording (e.g., if it's paused).
PAUSED: Dashcam is paused. To resume, touch the icon. Always pause Dashcam before removing the USB drive to avoid losing data.
BUSY: Dashcam is loading, saving, or overwriting. Footage isn't being captured during this time.
SAVED: Footage has been successfully saved.
Step 3: Exporting the Footage to Your Computer ️
Once your desired footage is saved to the USB drive, it's time to get it onto your computer.
3.1. Safely Removing the USB Drive
Park your Tesla.
Pause Dashcam recording: On your Tesla touchscreen, navigate to
Controls > Safetyand touch the Dashcam icon, or simply press and hold the Dashcam icon in your app launcher until it shows "PAUSED". This is crucial to prevent data corruption.Carefully remove the USB drive from the glovebox USB-A port.
3.2. Connecting to Your Computer
Insert the USB flash drive into a USB port on your computer.
3.3. Locating the Footage
Open your computer's file explorer (File Explorer on Windows, Finder on Mac).
Navigate to the mounted USB drive.
You will see a folder named TeslaCam. Open this folder.
Inside TeslaCam, you'll find sub-folders:
RecentClips: This folder contains the last hour of continuous recordings, broken into one-minute segments from each camera (front, rear, left repeater, right repeater). Even if you didn't manually save a clip, you might find what you're looking for here if it happened within the last hour.
SavedClips: This is where all your manually saved clips and automatically saved Sentry Mode events are stored. These are usually named with a timestamp (e.g.,
2025-07-13_15-05-00-Front).SentryClips: (May be combined with SavedClips in some setups, but often a separate folder for Sentry Mode events).
3.4. Copying the Files
Browse through the folders and locate the specific video clips you need. They are organized by timestamp, making it easier to find the relevant moment.
Select the desired video files.
Copy them to a folder on your computer's hard drive. You can do this by dragging and dropping, or by right-clicking and choosing "Copy," then navigating to your desired folder and choosing "Paste."
3.5. Viewing the Footage
The video files are typically in MP4 format, which is widely compatible. You can play them using most standard video players (e.g., VLC Media Player, Windows Media Player, QuickTime Player).
Step 4: Alternative Viewing and Transfer Methods
While the USB drive method is the primary way, there are a couple of other options:
4.1. Viewing on the Tesla Touchscreen
Ensure your Tesla is in Park.
Touch the Dashcam icon on the app launcher.
The Viewer will open, allowing you to browse and play recorded clips. Videos are organized by timestamp. While you can't "export" directly from here to another device without the USB, it's a good way to quickly review footage.
4.2. Transferring to Your Phone (with Adapter)
If you need to quickly get a clip onto your phone, you can use a USB-to-phone adapter (USB-C or Lightning, depending on your phone):
Remove the USB drive from your Tesla (after pausing Dashcam).
Plug the USB drive into the adapter.
Plug the adapter into your phone.
Your phone should recognize the USB drive, and you can then access the TeslaCam folder and copy the videos to your phone's storage or cloud service.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How to format a USB drive for Tesla Dashcam?
You can format it directly in your Tesla by inserting the drive and going to Controls > Safety > Format USB Drive. Alternatively, format it on a computer as exFAT, MS-DOS FAT (for Mac), ext3, or ext4.
How to ensure all camera angles are captured?
Tesla's Dashcam automatically records from the front, rear, and side repeater cameras. When you save a clip, it typically saves footage from all relevant cameras for that time period.
How to check if my USB drive is working for Dashcam?
After inserting the USB drive, check your Tesla's touchscreen. The Dashcam icon should show "RECORDING" or "AVAILABLE." If it shows "PAUSED" or "BUSY" for an extended period, or if the icon is missing, there might be an issue with the drive.
How to save Sentry Mode footage?
Sentry Mode footage is automatically saved when a security event is detected. You don't need to manually save it unless you want to preserve a specific moment that wasn't flagged as an event.
How to recover footage that wasn't manually saved?
Check the "RecentClips" folder on your USB drive. It stores the last hour of continuous footage, even if it wasn't specifically saved. You'll need to remove the USB drive quickly after the event to access these temporary files.
How to free up space on the Dashcam USB drive?
Simply delete older or unnecessary video files from the "SavedClips" or "SentryClips" folders on your computer after copying the important ones. You can also reformat the drive in your Tesla, but be aware this will erase all contents.
How to tell the difference between Dashcam and Sentry Mode files?
Both are saved in the "TeslaCam" folder. Sentry Mode events are usually in the "SentryClips" folder (if separate) or integrated into "SavedClips" and will often have specific naming conventions related to the event type. Dashcam saves (manual or on-honk) will also be in "SavedClips."
How to view Dashcam footage without a computer?
You can view saved footage directly on your Tesla's touchscreen while the car is in Park.
How to prevent my Dashcam footage from being overwritten?
Manually save clips you want to keep by tapping the Dashcam icon or using a voice command. Automatically saved Sentry Mode events are also preserved. Unsaved "RecentClips" are continuously overwritten after about an hour.
How to troubleshoot a non-working Dashcam?
First, ensure your USB drive meets the requirements and is properly formatted and inserted into the correct port (glovebox USB-A). Check if Dashcam is enabled in Controls > Safety. If issues persist, try reformatting the USB drive or using a different one.
Here's a video that shows you how to download Tesla Model Y Dashcam footage to your computer:
