Tesla Features a ‘Dummy’ Camera in Its New Vehicles

Tesla has made the decision to equip its new vehicles, which are equipped with the advanced Hardware 4.0 Autopilot/Self-Driving sensors, with a "dummy" camera.

Hardware 4 pic.twitter.com/0Ld2sshG9z

— Whole Mars Catalog (@WholeMarsBlog) March 6, 2023

Tesla's Hardware 4.0 is expected to feature more advanced computing capabilities, more cameras, and more advanced sensors than the current hardware versions, enabling Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) features to work more efficiently, effectively, and safely.

Noted: HW3 drivers will not be able to retrofit their vehicles with the new HW4 capabilities

Tesla writes in its manual (via Sawyer Merritt):
Tesla states that in HW4 there are two forward facing cameras. Tesla: "The bi-camera assembly has cutouts for 3 camera lens assemblies, but one of the cutouts is populated with a dummy camera."

BREAKING: HW4 references are now appearing in Tesla's public/free Model S/X service manuals.

Tesla states that in HW4 there are two forward facing cameras vs three in HW3 models. Tesla: "The bi-camera assembly has cutouts for 3 camera lens assemblies, but https://t.co/GmX4iLfC2V… https://t.co/KTzCKtSSeJ pic.twitter.com/So0nJI6p6M

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) March 8, 2023

Although Tesla has not provided an explanation for the dummy camera placement, the computer teardown revealed that the new Hardware 4.0 computer contains a "spare" camera input, which may shed light on the reason for the placement.