Tesla owners may soon be able to remotely view the live video feeds from the cameras of their vehicles according to a known source for early tip-offs about the EV carmaker. The feature would make it possible for a Tesla owner to see what is happening around their vehicle at any given time. It would be rolled out as part of one of the firm's upcoming software updates.
Tesla vehicles have cameras that are used as part of their Autopilot mode to help with autonomous capabilities like steering, accelerating, and braking. They are also used by the Sentry Mode security feature, which puts unattended Tesla vehicles into a standby state in which they will detect and record threats to the vehicle like someone leaning on a car or trying to gain entry. To date, Tesla owners are not able to gain access to the footage from their vehicle cameras unless it has been provided due to a threat detected by Sentry Mode.
That may be about to change, though. Asked during a discussion on Twitter about what likelihood there was of upcoming Sentry Mode-related features being rolled out in the future, @greentheonly replied that "the remote camera viewing seems to be in the wings". Pressed further about how the feature might work, @greentheonly suggested live video streams from Tesla vehicles would be relayed to the Tesla app.
Tesla Camera Access: Is It Needed?
Giving owners access to access to the video streams from their vehicles is the next logical step for Tesla. With numerous examples online of Sentry Mode foiling threats to Tesla vehicles, adding the potential for live monitoring of a vehicle via its cameras will provide another layer of security, allowing people to keep an eye on things if for any reason they feel they need to. Some may argue that the addition is unnecessary or intrusive but tell that to someone who has spent $80,000 on a Model X.
There is, of course, no date set for when the feature might roll out, although @greentheonly speculated that it could be as soon as the 2020.48 software update that is currently rolling out. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has already been talking up an upcoming holiday software update calling it "fire" in a tweet. Whenever the feature comes, assuming it does, we can be sure to expect many more funny and shocking Tesla camera videos being shared online.
Source: @greentheonly/Twitter