A new tweet from infamous Tesla hacker ‘green’ reports that he saw a feature called ‘S/X P2’ in the Tesla code after diving into Tesla’s new software update. It referenced being equipped with the latest Autopilot hardware 3.2 with a cabin-facing camera. With rumors of a possible Model S and Model X refresh on the horizon, “S/X P2” could point toward just that:
The Model 3 and Model Y have been equipped with a cabin-facing camera since production, however, they have yet to be integrated into Model S or Model X vehicles.
In the first three years of production, the cabin-facing camera was not initially put to use. It wasn’t until this past June that Tesla pushed its 2020.24 software update that the camera was activated to gather data on a voluntary basis: “Help Tesla continue to develop safer vehicles by sharing camera data from your vehicle. This update will allow you to enable the built-in cabin camera above the rearview mirror. If enabled, Tesla will automatically capture images and a short video clip just prior to a collision or safety event to help engineers develop safety features and enhancements in the future. As usual, you can adjust your data sharing preferences by tapping Controls > Safety &Security > DATA Sharing > Camera Analytics.”
According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the main goal of the camera is to prevent people from vandalizing cars when they are sans a driver while riding on Tesla’s upcoming self-driving robotaxi network.