Since the 2023 holiday software update, Teslas with an external pedestrian-warning speaker can play any short sound when you lock the car. The car reads it from a USB drive. Setting it up takes about two minutes.

What you need

A Model 3, Model Y, Model S, Model X or Cybertruck with the Boombox feature. If you can find Toybox → Boombox on the touchscreen, you’re set.
Software version 2023.44.30 or newer (Controls → Software).
A USB drive. Almost any will do; see which USB drive to use.
A sound file named LockChime.wav, under 1 MB. Every download on this site already meets that.

1. Pick and download a sound

Browse the library, press play to preview, and pick a volume. The car has no separate volume control for the lock sound, so the level is baked into the file. If you park somewhere quiet, try Soft; if you want to hear it from across a car park, try Loud. Then press Download.

2. Prepare the USB drive

Plug the drive into your computer and format it as exFAT or FAT32. On Windows, right-click the drive in File Explorer and choose Format. On a Mac, use Disk Utility → Erase and pick ExFAT or MS-DOS (FAT). Formatting erases the drive, so copy anything you want to keep first.

If the drive already holds your TeslaCam folder for Dashcam or Sentry Mode, don’t reformat it. You can put the lock sound on the same drive.

3. Copy the file to the root of the drive

Copy LockChime.wav onto the drive itself, not inside any folder. The name must match exactly, including the capital L and C. If your browser saved it as LockChime (1).wav, rename it.

4. Turn it on in the car

Plug the drive into one of the car’s USB ports (the glovebox port on newer cars is the usual Dashcam port).
Open Toybox → Boombox.
Under Lock Sound, choose USB.
Walk away and lock the car to hear it.

The car copies the sound into its own memory when you select it, so the drive doesn’t have to stay plugged in. To change sounds later, replace the file on the drive, plug it back in and select USB again.

Is it legal?

The feature is built into the car by Tesla. In some regions there are rules about noise from parked vehicles, so keep the volume considerate, especially at night. The sounds here are all original or licensed for reuse, so you’re fine on copyright.

Something not working? Go through the troubleshooting checklist.

How to change your Tesla lock sound