Ring’s products have so far all been about the home, starting off with their popular Ring Doorbell, eventually growing to offer a full home-security system.
The company is expanding their ecosystem to include your car with their new Car Cam, Car Alarm, and Car Connect systems.
The Car Connect is the product of most interest to Tesla owners. It was developed to integrate existing car cameras into the Ring ecosystem through a set of APIs (Application Programming Interface). This will allow you to use the Ring mobile app to view footage from your car, see if your car is locked or unlocked, and receive alerts for certain events like a break-in.
While most of those features are already available through Tesla’s mobile app, the Car Connect and Ring app will now also allow Tesla owners with Sentry Mode enabled to view footage on their mobile device.
To make it work, all you need to do is plug a custom dongle into one of the Tesla’s USB ports. Sentry Mode footage will then be uploaded to Ring’s cloud, making it possible to view footage for free over Wifi or from anywhere in the world with an optional LTE connectivity plan.
The company says it will be compatible with all Tesla Model S, Model 3, Model Y, and Model X vehicles.
If the image above showing the center console of a Model 3 depicts the actual product, it appears you would need to get rid of your Jeda USB Hub if you want this functionality.
The Car Connect is priced at $199 USD and will be available next year.
UPDATE: In a statement to Drive Tesla, Ring confirmed the Car Connect will not be available in Canada, but that may change in the future.
The Car Cam is also priced at $199, and adds a security camera to any car which can also detect a break-in, accident, or if your car is about to be towed. The device will send alerts to your mobile device through the Ring app, and relies on Wi-Fi or LTE for connectivity.
It can also alert first responders in the event of a “serious crash”, and through Alexa integration can automatically start recording if you say “Alexa, I’m being pulled over.”
The Car Alarm is the simplest of devices, and will cost just $59 USD. It plugs into a vehicle’s OBD-II port, and detects the same events as the Car Cam. It has a built-in siren that can be triggered remotely through the app.
Edit: The original version of this article suggested Tesla had partnered with Ring for this product. Despite being mentioned in the press release, it appears Ring simply made a product compatible with Tesla vehicles, and is simply an aftermarket accessory.
