Short version: a Tesla is a rolling Christmas tree that wants to greet you, and your job is to make it shy. Menu locations move around with nearly every firmware update, so do a dress rehearsal at home in the dark before the event.
Universal tips (any Tesla)
Parking and arrival
- Arrive before dark, and park facing out so you can leave without shifting into Reverse. Backup lights are the fastest way to become the least popular person on the field.
- Leaving early is risky: Auto headlights turn on when you shift into Drive. If you might leave mid-session, park at the edge or in the late-departure area, and follow the event’s exit rules.
Lights (Controls → Lights)
- Turn off Dome Lights and Ambient Lighting, if your model has them.
- Turn off “Headlights After Exit.”
- Even with those settings, opening a door still triggers puddle lights, door-edge LEDs, and footwell lights. Cover them with gaffer tape or red film. Also cover the trunk and frunk lights, and don’t open the charge port, which has an LED.
Security features that flash or chirp
- Turn off Sentry Mode.
- Turn off Walk-Away Door Lock (Controls → Locks). Otherwise the car flashes its lights every time you walk to the eyepiece.
- Locking and unlocking also blink the turn signals. My honest advice is to leave the car unlocked after dark. Star party fields are usually low-crime, and the people around you are mostly telescope nerds.
Screen
- Use the lowest brightness and dark mode. Some recent firmware lets you turn the screen off while parked; otherwise, put red film or a towel over it.
- The darkest Tesla is a sleeping one. With the doors shut and Sentry and Camp Mode off, it goes dark on its own after a while.
Camp Mode
- Camp Mode is good for a warm cabin between sessions and keeps the USB and 12V outlets powered. It also disables Sentry and the alarm.
- The tradeoff is that the screen stays on, so cover it.
- Battery drain on a cold night is probably a few percent per hour with heat running. That’s my estimate, so check your own numbers.
- Don’t count on the 12V socket for a whole imaging rig. It’s fine for a dew heater or a small mount. A dedicated power station is the better choice for anything bigger.
Non-rental (your own car)
- Make the fixes permanent: cut red film to fit the puddle lights and door-edge LEDs.
- If you use your phone as a key, approaching the car can wake it and unlock it. Carry the key card instead, or turn off Bluetooth on your phone near the field.
- Charge to about 90% before you go, since dark sites are rarely near Superchargers.
- Turn off the lock sound in settings.
- If you use the app to precondition the cabin, put a red filter on your phone first. The app is very bright.
Rentals (Hertz, Turo, etc.)
- Assume nothing is set the way you want. A previous renter or the fleet may have left Sentry on, and some fleet settings may be locked.
- Hertz Teslas usually come with only a key card, which actually helps: there’s no walk-away lock. But tapping the card to lock or unlock still flashes the lights, so don’t lock it at night.
- Check every light while it’s still dusk: open each door, the trunk, and the frunk, and note what lights up.
- Use only removable tape and film, and peel it all off before you return the car. Leftover tape tends to show up as a cleaning fee.
- Practice turning the headlights off in daylight. Controls vary, and some newer cars have no stalks at all.
- Plan your range against the rental’s return-charge requirement. Camp Mode drain plus a remote site can leave you short.
Tesla variants:
These are the parts that differ by model, on top of the general list from before. These cars get many over-the-air updates, so a few of these may already have changed. Treat menu paths as approximate and test them in your driveway after dark.
Model 3 “Highland” (2024+)
- Ambient light strip: a light band runs across the dash and doors. Turn it off in Controls → Lights → Ambient Lighting. With it on, the cabin glows through the windows like an aquarium.
- No stalks: you shift and turn the headlights off on the touchscreen. Learn where both controls are before dark so you aren’t hunting with the screen at full brightness.
- Rear passenger screen: a second display sits in the back. Check that it’s off or dimmed. Passengers forget it’s there, and so does everyone else until it lights up mid-session.
- Door buttons: you open the doors electronically. Practice this, because a fumbled exit can turn into extra light from doors and the screen.
Model Y “Juniper” (2025+)
- Light bars, front and rear: these are mainly running and tail lights. I believe they go dark in Park, but they can animate when you lock or unlock, so (as before) don’t lock it.
- Ambient lighting and rear screen: same as the Highland. Turn the ambient lighting off and check the rear screen.
- Stalk: the turn-signal stalk came back, but headlight settings are still on the screen.
- Bonus: the rear seats fold flat, which makes it one of the better choices for a “nap between targets” setup.
Model S / Model X (2021+ refresh)
- Self-opening doors: turn off auto-presenting door handles (S) and auto-opening front doors (X), usually under Controls → Locks or Doors. Otherwise the car greets you every time you walk past on your way to the eyepiece.
- Model X Falcon Wing doors: these have bright edge and interior lighting, and they take a while to open and close. Most importantly, they rise well above roof height. Check clearance from scopes, tents, and canopies. Hitting someone’s dew shield would be a memorable way to meet the neighbors.
- More lights overall: the cabin has extensive interior lighting and a rear screen. Plan on more tape than for a 3 or Y.
- Shifting: it’s done on the screen or with auto-shift, so as above, practice in daylight.
Cybertruck
- Huge light bars: the front and rear light bars are very bright and animate on wake, lock, and unlock. This is the worst offender for accidental light. Let it sleep and don’t poke it.
- Bed (vault) and frunk lights: cover them, because opening the tonneau or frunk can floodlight the field.
- Power outlets: 120V and 240V outlets in the bed and cabin are the real advantage. They’ll run a full imaging rig (mount, camera, laptop, dew heaters) without a separate power station. Expect noticeable range loss overnight, and remember that the outlets may need the truck awake. Check whether it keeps power flowing without the screen lit.
- Leveling: the air suspension can kneel or level itself. Lower it before setup, and make sure it won’t adjust overnight and jostle a cable running to your mount.
Notes for all models
- On cars with a rear screen, check it every time. It’s the most commonly forgotten light.
- In a rental, you won’t know which features the last renter left on, so do the dusk walk-around check before the session.