Will Tesla add a bird's eye view feature to newer vehicles?
@zzapcars
Tesla’s forthcoming hardware 4.0 computer reveals that Tesla will be able to connect up 12 cameras with its new FSD hardware suite, up from the current nine it uses today.
Earlier this week, Tesla owner and hacker Greentheonly leaked information and pictures of Tesla’s anticipated hardware 4.0. Green confirmed some big and subtle improvements to the hardware.
12 Cameras in Hardware 4
The new hardware's main board will accept up to 12 cameras, with one of them labeled as a spare. Tesla currently uses nine cameras in its current hardware and is expected to reduce the front-facing cameras by one. Based on this information and the labels on the camera connectors, it appears that Tesla will include three additional cameras with FSD hardware 4.0.
When Greentheonly revealed these hardware 4 details, Twitter user StayLameBro1 inquired about where the new cameras will be placed around the vehicle. “There are seemingly 3 bumper cameras,” Green responds. “One up front the other two are left and right so in the corners somewhere.”
Green adds that the addition of bumper cameras and HD radar will remove blind spots. This is a big deal alone. Lastly, Green added that these additional cameras could allow Tesla to incorporate a real bird’s eye view into its vehicles, a feature many Tesla owners have been requesting.
There's currently a large blind spot in front of the vehicle
Munro
Bird’s Eye View
Bird's eye view is a feature that many other automakers have had for a while now, including Toyota, Honda, BMW, and Lucid. It allows for drivers to see a top-down view of their vehicle and surroundings, increasing safety and spatial awareness.
Last fall, Tesla announced they’re transitioning their fleet to their own Tesla Vision. The company added that vehicles built in October 2022 and beyond would no longer include ultrasonic sensors (USS). This sent confusion around the Tesla community given the blind spots, but hardware 4 will seemingly address these concerns.
The removal of the USS saves Tesla approximately $114 per vehicle. This is in line with “Project Highland,” a cost-cutting project for the upcoming revamped Model 3.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk told investors that upgrading hardware 3 to hardware 4 is difficult and expensive.
“The cost and difficulty of retrofitting hardware 3 with hardware 4 is quite significant,” Musk said. “So, it would not be, I think, economically feasible to do so.”
After the leak of hardware 4, we now begin to understand Musk's statement. We're not only talking about a new computer with hardware 4, but higher-resolution cameras, additional cameras, possibly a new bumper design and an HD radar unit.
Musk has also reiterated that hardware 3 will be capable of driving safer than a human, however, it's not clear under which constraints that would be, such as specific roads and weather conditions, or whether a human driver would always be required to be attentive.
Update: We have now confirmed that FSD Hardware 4.0 will not include additional cameras in the bumper or elsewhere, which means that the vehicle will still have a blind spot. However, we have been told that the 'bumper' camera connectors on HW4.0 are for future expansion, but will not be used initially.
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In a move that has both surprised and frustrated Tesla and non-Tesla owners, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) is actively removing Tesla Superchargers from its service plazas, replacing them under an exclusive agreement with Applegreen Electric—the company that operates the plazas.
This transition, which was officially announced by the Tesla Charging account on X, will see all 64 of Tesla’s V3 Supercharger stalls removed from the Turnpike. This has raised some eyebrows, especially as the Applegreen sites, which will only feature CCS1 plugs, won’t be online until later this year.
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority ("NJTA") has chosen a sole third-party charging provider to serve the New Jersey Turnpike and is not allowing us to co-locate. As a result, NJTA requested 64 existing Supercharger stalls on the New Jersey Turnpike to not be renewed and be… pic.twitter.com/sosNIwMfYu
Tesla’s presence on the Turnpike dates back to 2014 when the NJTA granted Tesla a pilot license for just eight Supercharger stalls. That then rapidly expanded, and by the end of 2023, Tesla had 64 V3 Supercharger stalls active across the Turnpike, boasting their usual impressive 99.9% uptime, with a 30% lower cost than competitors nearby.
With the increasing adoption of the North American Charging Standard (NACS) by other automakers, Tesla's network is becoming the de facto fast-charging standard for a growing number of non-Tesla EVs, which makes this decision even harder to justify. Not only will Tesla vehicles be unable to charge at these locations, but many new EVs with NACS ports will also be left out.
Applegreen
Applegreen’s chargers are less than ideal. They resemble gas stations for EVs, which is a huge step back from Tesla’s elegant solution. Besides currently only supporting CCS1 and CHAdeMO charging connectors, which leaves out the majority of EVs, they also provide a worse charging experience.
These locations are often more expensive than Tesla Superchargers, but just like Tesla, the price does vary by location. We spot-checked several locations and noticed that prices were roughly about 10% higher per kWh than a similar Tesla charger nearby. Applegreen’s chargers also include screens and a credit card slot, requiring customers to pay for their charging sessions, just as they would for gasoline.
While we don’t have statistics on their uptime, it’s hard to argue that it’d be better than Tesla’s, which has live monitoring and often fixes issues within hours, which was recently demonstrated when it rebuilt a Supercharger less than 48 hours after it was burned down. Many users complain of Applegreen’s chargers, saying they don’t work or are difficult to use. Their app on iOS currently has a 1.9 rating out of 5.
Tesla’s Proposal
The landscape for EV charging on the Turnpike shifted in March 2023, when the NJTA amended its agreements with Applegreen to make it an exclusive offering. Despite Tesla offering what it cites as above-market terms, which included upgrading all Superchargers on the Turnpike to include Magic Docks (NACS + CCS1 chargers) for universal EV compatibility and card readers for better billing for non-Tesla owners. Tesla also offered to co-host, allowing Applegreen chargers and Tesla Superchargers to be located side by side. However, NJTA still declined to let Tesla keep any of its existing Superchargers online.
This is clearly a move for Applegreen to capitalize on its property and generate revenue by installing its own branded chargers. However, with Applegreen’s chargers only having CCS1 cables, calling them “universally” compatible while making Tesla’s seem exclusive to Tesla vehicles is laughable. This is clearly a step in the wrong direction that will hurt all EV owners. If anything, NJTA should be requiring Applegreen to maintain Tesla’s Superchargers on the premises, while also allowing Applegreen to install their own chargers.
NJTA instead announced that Tesla must decommission its Superchargers soon, which will leave EV drivers without viable options while traveling on the 117-mile-long NJ Turnpike. That’s millions of dollars of Tesla charging infrastructure that’s already being used - being removed without a replacement in place for potentially months.
The decision has been met with some widespread criticism over the last few days. The reduced options, reduced convenience, increased costs, and reliability concerns are chief among the concerns of Tesla and other EV drivers. However, the lack of transparency behind the decision, as well as the exclusivity to Applegreen, has led many to accuse the NJTA of corruption and backdoor deals, including Elon.
Anticipating the worst, however, Tesla’s Supercharging team has been working to ensure charging continuity. Between 2022 and today, Tesla has proactively built 116 replacement Supercharger stalls at eight new locations just off the Turnpike, anticipating this would happen. While this will make it less convenient for EVs reliant on NACS, it won’t leave them stranded without a place to charge. Tesla’s trip planner has already been adjusted to route drivers to these new sites as well.
While Tesla is clearly invested in expanding access to electric vehicle charging - whether for its own direct customers or for other EVs, it seems that some organizations believe the easiest way to meet “green goals” is to find the solution that’s best for their pocketbook.
We’re hoping that these types of exclusivity deals don’t become common as they harm all current EV owners and reduce electric vehicle adoption.
With Tesla’s Robotaxi network poised for its initial launch as soon as June 12th, Elon and Tesla’s lobbying team are stepping up to speak to administrators about autonomy regulation. According to a report from Bloomberg(paywall), the team is working on a behind-the-scenes push in Washington to establish a federal framework for autonomous vehicles.
This push involves direct lobbying of members of the US Congress to build a clear legislative path for autonomy, and the timing is no coincidence. Tesla needs clear regulations to operate under, rather than the fractured state-by-state or city-by-city regulations that exist sporadically throughout the US.
Pushing for a National Standard
The report, citing insiders familiar with the matter, details that Elon has been personally involved in calls with legislators and has been weighing in on revisions to the bill introduced on May 15th, which aimed to establish a basic regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles. Tesla’s goal is to move this bill forward before Congress’s July 4th recess.
When the US Transportation Secretary visited Tesla earlier in May, Elon had some wise words to say on this topic, touching on the core issue: for a service to operate nationwide, navigating a patchwork of regulations is a legal and operational nightmare.
It’d be wonderful for the United States to have a national set of rules for autonomous driving as opposed to 50 independent sets of rules on a state-by-state basis. - Elon Musk
Federal Rules
While the initial Robotaxi pilot launch in Austin is more than feasible under Texas’s relatively permissive regulations, the long-term vision is severely hamstrung by federal rules. Current regulations only permit special exemptions for a test fleet of up to 2,500 vehicles that lack traditional controls, such as a steering wheel and pedals.
While this isn’t a direct roadblock for Tesla’s initial deployment of Model Ys in the Robotaxi network, this vehicle cap is a roadblock for the mass production and deployment of Tesla’s purpose-built Cybercab. The Cybercab, with its easy-to-clean interior, relatively low cost, and lower-maintenance design, is ideal to scale the service with a vehicle designed from the ground up to be autonomous, where it’ll be cheaper to operate and maintain. Remember that the Cybercab is expected to be capable of 5.5 miles per kWh, whereas the Model Y is capable of about 4. Tesla needs a federal law that allows for the widespread sale and operation of the Cybercab, as it’ll likely be crucial to make the network profitable.
The legislative push also comes as Tesla is coming under increasing scrutiny from regulators. The NHTSA is already probing Tesla’s Robotaxi plans and seeking answers about FSD’s performance in adverse weather conditions. Establishing a clear, Congressionally approved federal framework will not only create a more predictable and stable regulatory environment for Tesla to operate in, but it’ll actually make these vehicles safer by having one set of rules.
Difficult Road
This isn’t the first crack at creating national autonomous vehicle laws from Congress. Various bills have been attempted over the years, with one even passing the House in 2017 before getting stalled and dropped in the Senate. The primary obstacle has often been debates over legal liability and pressures from legal groups who have raised concerns about handling incidents with autonomous vehicles.
The new bill represents the latest effort to clear the maze of red tape, and Tesla’s direct involvement, along with the upcoming pilot launch of the Robotaxi network, provides some momentum to push this forward.
Tesla is on the verge of launching Robotaxi, which has massive implications for how we approach urban mobility as a society. However, just as in many other cases, the technology is advancing far faster than the glacial pace of bureaucracy, which means that lobbying is crucial to expedite the process of getting regulations in place as soon as possible.
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