Tesla software update 2021.40 to add 'Live Camera Streaming'

October 14, 2021

By Nuno Cristovao

Tesla is on a roll with it's app lately. We've seen numerous releases since the app was updated to version 4.0 back in August. Just yesterday Tesla released version 4.2.0 with quick action buttons in one of its widgets and much better interior details of the vehicle.

Tesla to let you stream cameras from your car directly to the app

@OlympusDev/Twitter

With this same release, it looks like Tesla is starting to prepare to release a much anticipated feature in the near future, the ability to stream live video from your car.

Live Stream Video From Car

With the release of software update 2021.40, Tesla will allow you to stream live camera feeds from your car directly to your phone. You'll be able to view any of the cameras that are included in Dashcam or Sentry Mode, which include the front and rear cameras and the two side fender cameras.

"manage_permissions_bml_switch_firmware": "Available with Firmware 2021.40 and up", "vehicle_controls_cameras": "Live Camera",

Save Video

View live camera link

@OlympusDev/Twitter

When viewing the live feed from your car, you'll also be given the chance to save the video directly to the car. It's possible that Tesla will allow you to save it to your phone, but judging by the fact that Tesla is requiring your car to have a USB drive in order to stream video and that there is a new API endpoint to save dashcam footage, it's likely that the recorded video will be saved to your car instead of your phone.

View Sentry Clips and Dashcam Footage

In addition to being able to view live video from your car, and notably more useful. You'll now be able to remotely view Sentry Mode clips instead of having to wait until you get back to your car.

You'll likely be presented from a similar interface that appears in your car to view Sentry Mode and Dashcam clips and you'll be able to view and delete them.

Requirements

There will be a few requirements before you're allowed to stream video to your phone. Your car will obviously need to have the ability to use the Dashcam and Sentry Mode features, which require a vehicle with FSD HW 2.5 or higher. It will also require your vehicle to have software update 2021.40 or higher.

In addition, before being able to initialize the video stream, Tesla will require that your car be in park, have all doors closed and for no one to be in the car. Tesla is making these requirements presumably for privacy concerns around spying on individuals in a private environment.

Premium Connectivity Required

It's strongly suspected that your vehicle will need to be subscribed to Tesla's Premium Connectivity or be connected to WiFi in order to stream live video or remotely view Dashcam or Sentry Mode videos.

Tesla will very likely not introduce a higher priced connectivity option. Tesla already allows you to stream video services for unlimited periods. The bandwidth required to stream your car's cameras will be fairly small when compared to streaming video.

Limitations / Daily Limit

Tesla will impose a daily viewing limit on how long you can remotely monitor your vehicle with video. This is likely to prevent users from live streaming video for long periods of time. For example, if they went out to dinner, started a live stream and set their phone down.

I suspect the daily limit will be more than reasonable and you'll be unlikely to reach the limit unless you're trying to use your car as a security camera.

Talk to Car From Your Phone

When monitoring your car remotely, you'll be able to talk directly to your phone and have your voice come out of the car. This will require your vehicle to be equipped with the Pedestrian Warning System (PWS). Basically, if you have the Boombox feature, then you have the PWS.

In addition to being able to talk to the car from your phone, you'll also be able to honk the horn and flash your car's lights to alert anyone around your vehicle.

This snippet was found in the latest Tesla app:

"Tesla allows you to use your microphone to speak through your car or attach videos when scheduling service for your vehicle",

If you don't, then for some models Tesla can retrofit the PWS for a couple hundred dollars, although it's not available on all model years. Your car will need to already be wired to support the outdoor speaker.

I can see this feature being fun, but also useful. If there's someone seriously looking at your vehicle with ill intent, then what better way to deter them then to talk to them. They'll likely think that you're walking up to the car and walk away.

Of course, I'm sure there will be lots of humorous ways owners will use this feature as well.

Unfortunately, because Teslas do not (yet) have external microphones, this will be one-way audio. So you'll be able to talk to the individuals, but unfortunately unable to hear their surprised or funny reactions.

In-Car Purchases

As we talked about back in August, Tesla is adding in-car purchases. Features that you can buy directly on your phone today will become available in the vehicle as well. Features such as adding the FSD subscription, Performance Boost and others will now be only a couple taps away.

According to information in the latest iOS app, this feature will also be added in the 2021.40 software update.

As the owner of the vehilce, you'll see be able to limit in-car purchases as well, much like you can limit in-app purchases on other platforms.

Software updates have contained slightly less than usual lately as Tesla focuses on FSD and catching up on the new Model S software, but 2021.40 is surely to be an exciting release, even if this was the only feature in it.

Stay tuned for more.

You Can Now Track Tesla’s Robotaxi Deployment

June 15, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Thanks to Tesla Yoda on X, we have found out that Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet is registered on the Texas Department of Transportation’s public-facing Automated Vehicle Deployment website. This makes the fleet’s movements publicly viewable and trackable, and marks a first for Tesla.

This isn’t just any old FSD test - this is the first officially acknowledged, government-tracked, and sanctioned deployment of a Tesla Model Y operating as a ride-share vehicle. But that’s not all - Texas DOT’s tracker notes that the Tesla does not have a safety driver.

View on the Map

Visitors to the Texas DOT website can filter for “Tesla”, and see, currently, a single active vehicle operating in the Austin Metro area. According to the state’s official data, here’s what we know:

Company: Tesla

Description: Ride-share service

Status in Texas: Testing

Safety Driver: No

The final point is definitely the most significant here. While Tesla has been testing FSD with safety drivers for some time in Austin and LA for employee-only testing, this is the first time that a vehicle has been officially registered and deployed on public roads without a human behind the wheel for safety.

The fact that there is no safety driver officially shifts the liability from the occupant of the driver’s seat to Tesla, for the first time in a public setting. That’s already pretty significant - we previously dove into how Tesla plans to insure its own vehicles, and potentially owner vehicles in the Robotaxi fleets.

The status currently lists Tesla as “Testing,” confirming that the service isn’t available to the public, but this is expected to change in the coming weeks.

This testing phase is likely part of a short but crucial period that lets Tesla capture data on the safety levels of its current iteration of Unsupervised FSD without a driver supervising. Tesla already stated that they’d be avoiding difficult areas, so this testing can also expose additional areas Tesla may want to avoid, such as school zones or blind driveways.

Tesla will need to prove, both internally and externally, that FSD Unsupervised has the necessary performance to safely navigate the streets without any incidents.

Regulatory Milestone

For years, the concept of a Tesla Robotaxi has been a future promise. Now, it's a present-day reality, albeit in a testing capacity.

Having an official government body list a Tesla as an active, driverless vehicle shows that they’ve been able to clear regulatory hurdles, which Tesla has often pointed to as the issue. It demonstrates a level of confidence from both Tesla and Texas regulators in the system's capabilities.

While it's just a single vehicle for today, we’ll likely see this list slowly expand over time. Alongside being able to track Robotaxi incidents at the City of Austin’s website, we’ll be able to closely watch Tesla’s progress with its first Robotaxi deployments.

Tesla FSD in Europe: June Update

June 14, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

The road to bringing FSD to Europe has been a long and complex one and filled with regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles. Elon Musk, as well as other members of Tesla’s AI team, have previously voiced their grievances with the regulatory approval process on X.

However, it appears that there is finally some progress in getting things moving with recent changes to upcoming autonomy regulations, but the process still seems slow.

Waiting on the Dutch

Elon commented on X recently, stating that Tesla is waiting for approval from Dutch authorities and then the EU to start rolling out FSD in Europe. Tesla is focusing on acquiring approvals from the Dutch transportation authority, which will provide them with the platform they need to gain broader acceptance in Europe. Outside of the Netherlands, Tesla is also conducting testing in Norway, which provides a couple of avenues for them to obtain national-level approval.

The frustration has been ongoing, with multiple committee meetings bringing up autonomy regulation but always pulling back at the last second before approving anything. The last meeting on Regulation 157, which governs Automated Lane Keeping Systems, concluded with authorities from the UK and Spain requesting additional time to analyze the data before reaching a conclusion.

Tesla, as well as Elon, have motioned several times for owners to reach out to their elected representatives to move the process forward, as it seems that Tesla’s own efforts are being stymied.

This can seem odd, especially since Tesla has previously demoed FSD working exceptionally smoothly on European roads - and just did it again in Rome when they shared the video below on X.

FSD Supervised testing in Rome, Italy

Pending regulatory approval pic.twitter.com/TXh3uQIfrx
— Tesla Europe & Middle East (@teslaeurope) June 12, 2025

DCAS Phase 3

While the approval process has been slow, Kees Roelandschap pointed out that there may be a different regulatory step that could allow FSD to gain a foothold in Europe.

According to Kees, the European Commission is now taking a new approach to approving ADAS systems under the new DCAS Phase 3 regulations. The Commission is now seeking data from systems currently operational in the United States that can perform System-Initiated Maneuvers and don’t require hands-on intervention for every request.

This is key because those are two of the core functionalities that make FSD so usable, and it also means that there may not be a need to wait years for proper regulations to be written from scratch. Now, the Commission will be looking at real-world data based on existing, deployed technology, which could speed up the process immensely.

What This Means

This new, data-driven regulatory approach could be the path for Tesla to reach its previous target of September for European FSD. While the cogs of bureaucracy are ever slow, sometimes all it takes is a little data to have them turn a bit faster in this case.

Alongside specific countries granting approval for limited field testing with employees, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for FSD in Europe, and hopes are that a release will occur by the end of 2025. With Europe now looking to North America for how FSD is performing, Tesla’s Robotaxi results could also play a role.