The Tesla Model 3 has the potential to spy on you as you drive, with the automaker secretly installing a driver-facing camera in the rear view mirror of each vehicle.
The cameras, which Tesla claims are currently deactivated, could be used to monitor the driver’s attention span during autonomous journeys.
Tesla has remained tight-lipped as to the purpose of the cameras, and made no mention of the devices during the firm’s launch of the Model 3 last week.
The automaker confirmed to Electrek on Tuesday that the Model 3 is equipped with a camera, but said it is not currently active.
The camera will only become active after future software updates, a spokesperson said, though the company refused to give further details.
Autonomous driving experts have previously said that driver-facing cameras would be needed for any vehicles performing level three autonomous driving.
This level of autonomous transport uses the driver as backup to the self-driving system, which monitors the vehicle’s environment and makes decisions on the road.
Experts have said that a camera would be needed to ensure driver safety by monitoring their gaze and alerting them if it looks like they are not paying attention.
Tesla’s current autopilot system enables level two autonomous driving, in which the steering and speed of the vehicle are controlled by one or more driver assistance systems, but a human controls all other elements.
Tesla has previously stated that future software updates to its fleet of vehicles will enable level three to five autonomy on existing hardware in its cars.
Level five autonomy describes a fully autonomous system with no human input whatsoever that can handle all terrains from roads to dirt tracks.
The camera doesn’t just cover the driver, but the entire cabin of the vehicle, Electrek reports.
‘That could become a useful feature for Tesla Network, the automaker’s upcoming autonomous ride-sharing network,’ Editor in Chief Fred Lambert wrote.
‘Owners will be able to autonomously send their cars on Tesla’s ride-sharing network in order to taxi people around autonomously and the owners and Tesla will share the revenue from this service.’
It appears several Model 3 features are designed to work with Tesla’s autonomous taxi network, such as the use of an app to unlock and start the car.
The camera in the cabin could monitor occupancy, which could help the service to run smoothly while providing a layer of security to owners who may have problems allowing strangers into their cars.
The camera controversy comes shortly after the first Model 3s came off of the production line last month.
The first 30 models were handed over to customers during a glitzy ceremony at the company’s factory in Fremont, California on July 30.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, 46, told the launch event that he expects to churn out 500,000 Model 3s a year.
He has vowed to radically change the way people drive by taking on well-established car giants with the company’s range of sleek electric vehicles.
He said last week: ‘This is the day we’ve been working towards since the beginning of the company.
‘If you’re trying to make a difference in the world you have to make cars that people can afford.’
The arrival of the Tesla Model 3 has been described as a watershed moment for electric cars, which have long been considered costly, inefficient and impractical.
The five-seat car will be able to travel 215 miles (345 km) on a single charge and will be sporty, accelerating from zero to 60mph in under six seconds.
The Model 3 has received particular praise for its affordability, with a price tag of just $35,000 for US customers.
The cars will likely be available to UK buyers next year, with a predicted price of £30,000 after government grants.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4756740/Tesla-Model-3-secret-camera-installed.html#ixzz4onyAcleu
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so just like our lap tops and computers we will have to start looking for cameras in our cars to cover up with tape
I deactivated all the Bluetooth crap, and Chevy Spy button shit in my ’12 Silverado- jerked a fuse and deactivated the circuit ( its just wires an shit).. suck on that
I do know about the black box crap.., if the truck is ever doing something stupid and i think i need to cover my ass I still have a lighter and full coverage insurance
dont want it, dont need it..un plug it or bust it out someway
What doesn’t have a hidden camera in it these days? Anything?
If I go out and buy a new toilet, the damn thing will probably have a hidden camera on it somewhere, running on a battery, watching while I drop a deuce.
Buncha sick bastards.
LOL
I hope anyone who owns one of those cars has the sense to stick a piece of tape or a band-aid over the camera.
As for me, I’d simply never buy a car like that. My money isn’t going to reward a manufacturer that wants to spy on me.
Who the hell can afford a new car these days anyway?
Amen.
And who’d even WANT to, with all the unwanted, privacy-endangering technological crap they’re packing into them now?
Agreed.
We will never get a new car again and don’t Want one (not just for the “privacy-endangering technological crap” reason). We don’t want one because of all the technological crap alone.
Hubby’s 2006 F-150 has a light out in the dash… Should be a simple fuse replacement…NO!!!… We would have to replace the “Mother Board”…$$$$… GRRR!!! 😡 👿
I see these new $70,000.00 trucks out here all day long. Are these people nuts?
I’m about to make the trip from here here to TX in my Mom’s piece of sh-t ’98 Cutclass (hate the car, never liked it. [I inherited it, it was paid for] )… God, I wish I could tail you. 🙂
Those idiots on the road now scare the ever lovin’ sh-t out of me. I swear, last year, there where several times when I was Sure we were going to die.
Just make sure your in their mirrors, a lot of these assholes are half asleep, make a habit of blinking your lights before you pass(semis and 4 wheelers both)! Don’t linger while passing.Wake their illegal alien asses up, I’m in Missouri City, Tx right now, headed for Burnsville, Mn.
Expect the worst while passing, always have an out.
Packaged chicken, refrigerated.
Wouldn’t trust ’em as far as I can spit, BMF!