Tesla has made several important changes to the Model S and Model X, with the most notable being the addition of a front bumper camera to both the electric sedan and electric SUV.
For the better part of a year there has been speculation that Tesla was going to be adding a front bumper camera to their vehicles. The addition of a front bumper camera would eliminate a large blind spot at the front of the vehicle, both for day-to-day driving, but also for field of view for Full Self-Driving (FSD). It would also be a welcomed addition after Tesla removed ultrasonic sensors (USS) from their vehicles.
A front bumper camera was initially expected to arrive on the Model S and Model X last year after the introduction of Hardware 4.0 (HW4), but that never materialized (more on why, later).
Then it was believed to be the new Model 3, with camouflaged test vehicles being spotted with one. However, when the new Model 3 was launched, there was no front bumper camera again, even though Tesla accidentally (on purpose?) included it in images on their website, before promptly removing them.
The front bumper camera finally made its debut with the launch of the Cybertruck, with owners saying it greatly improves confidence when driving in tight spaces, or even just parking in general, especially with a larger vehicle like the Cybertruck.
The wait is finally over and the front bumper camera has now been added to the Model S and Model X. According to a report from Teslascope on X, the front bumper camera will be part of the S/X starting tomorrow, March 1, 2024.
In addition, interior ambient lighting has been added. Again this is something that has been speculated to be coming soon for a while, with cars even being delivered with some of the parts required for this feature hidden behind the door panels.
Teslascope said there will be other smaller changes for the S/X starting March 1, without going into detail as to what they were.
The big question that will arise from all this is will there be retrofits for existing owners? There has been no confirmation yet from Tesla as to whether retrofits will be available, but we do expect them to be offered in the future.
So why did it take so long for the S/X to get a front bumper camera and interior ambient lighting? From what we’ve been told it was a combination of factors all coming together at the same time, the most notable of which was supply chain related.
