Tesla chief Elon Musk said Sunday he was "looking into" reports the car manufacturer's top security feature was blocked for use in Israel.
The Israeli branch of electric vehicle manufacturer has apparently banned the “Sentry Mode” service in the country, which utilizes the vehicle's safety cameras to protect it from theft and vandalism, all while monitoring the vehicle's surroundings while driving in reverse.
The service was reportedly blocked due to the vehicle manufacturer's refusal to adapt the service to Israeli law, which prohibits automatic activation of the alarm system used by Sentry to warn the vehicle’s owner of illicit physical contact, as well as obstructions while driving.
According to several Israeli Tesla owners, bypassing the lock was possible thanks to the use of certain third party software which allowed users to utilize Sentry while disabling its intrusive alarm feature.
The loophole, however, was patched in Tesla's latest firmware update, rendering the solution ineffective and the Sentry system once again unavailable for about 7,500 Model 3 owners in the country.
Moshe Shekther, a Tesla Model 3 owner, uploaded to Twitter a picture of his vehicle vandalized, days after the controversial firmware update rolled out.
"This could be stopped if Tesla will enable Sentry mode in Israel," wrote Shekther in his post, which included a plea to Tesla founder and CEO Musk to "do his magic" and find a solution to the Sentry issue in Israel.
Musk, on his part, replied: "Looking into it".