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Dashcam Option

Would you be interested in a built-in dashcam option when buying a new Tesla?

  • No

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Yes, but must be $500 or less

    Votes: 24 51.1%
  • Yes, but must be $1000 or less

    Votes: 9 19.1%
  • Yes, even if over $1000

    Votes: 4 8.5%
  • Maybe, depending on the functionality (e.g. video formats, whether it can operate when parked)

    Votes: 10 21.3%

  • Total voters
    47
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Skotty

2014 S P85 | 2023 F-150L
Jun 27, 2013
2,684
2,253
Kansas City, MO
Has there been much discussion of Tesla offering a dashcam option on their cars? With autopilot hardware, all the cars now have forward facing cameras already built in. It would just require a way to store and offload the video when needed I would think. I could see this being a really popular option. I like the idea of a dashcam, but I would like it a lot more if it were factory installed (aftermarket gives you more options, but factory installed has the advantage of no aftermarket installation required and no concerns over warranty coverage).
 
Just to discuss a little, has anyone ever heard of a car offered with factory dashcam? I can't think of one. Could be a first or near first for Tesla, if they were to offer it. If enough people show interest here, I might try to feed the suggestion to Tesla.

When I thought long and hard about it, I decided I would probably go up to $1500 for the option, and voted accordingly. That is high for a dashcam but so is $2500 for UHFS. But I'd like to see it be more like a $500 - $750 option.
 
The current cameras on Tesla S/X vehicles wouldn't work for a dashcam. The video stream isn't available. It's processed by the Mobileye chips and simply provides a data stream of the processed info, not a video stream.

The latest Corvette models had a dash cam option and a google for "corvette dash cam" comes up with video of a valet driver "drag racing" inside a parking garage. 2016 Corvettes have a $1,795 "Performance Data and Video Recorder" option. In addition to the dash cam feature, this also records g force, lap times, etc.

I totally agree that a dash cam should be a factory option on every vehicle. I'd likely buy it with every vehicle purchase.
 
Interesting topic. When Tesla's have 8 cameras streaming data from every direction, the default would be just to process it to satisfy the needs of the AP and whatever data collection the system wants. That doesn't mean it couldn't be also stored as video under some circumstances.

It could be a sort of advanced software addressable dashcam. It might normally just be buffered for a few minutes but triggering events could save and/or upload the buffer. Any indicator of an accident. Airbag deployment, rapid braking, or collision avoidance and the buffer uploads. If there's a network connection to other vehicles on the road any nearby vehicles might be triggered too. Any accident would be covered from many different angles.

This might have an application in the early years of self driving fleets. Very detailed views of any accident or incident might be very helpful. One odd issue is I think people will try "abusing" self driving vehicles and it would be useful if vehicles document anything unusual that happens in as much detail as possible.

Anytime a new sort of definable situation of interest comes up, an OTA update could set up a new trigger to upload the buffer.
 
Has anybody had a dual camera dash cam installed in their Tesla? My wife purchased one for my birthday. I brought it to the local Best Buy "Geek Squad" for instillation. After a few minutes of looking under the frunk and the trunk, they concluded that they couldn't run the wires for a rear view camera and suggested that I contact a Tesla Service center or an authorized repair shop.
 
Has anybody had a dual camera dash cam installed in their Tesla? My wife purchased one for my birthday. I brought it to the local Best Buy "Geek Squad" for instillation. After a few minutes of looking under the frunk and the trunk, they concluded that they couldn't run the wires for a rear view camera and suggested that I contact a Tesla Service center or an authorized repair shop.
It's very doable. Search blackvue on this forum. You'll see plenty of threads of different ways to install a dual channel dash cam.
 
So important!

California does not have "accident forgiveness" so it will cost the driver at fault dearly if an accident occurs.

To make sure you get an accurate result with the insurance company, a dash cam would be excellent. Ideally it should be bidirectional.

(Tesla could wake up any sleepy drivers as well by adding sleepy face technology.)
 
With the Coming Mobil-eye system with 8 Cameras for the Autopilot functionality - if they have room for them - they could add one more (High Res, 4K, 120 frames per second, would be super), included for drivers records, insurance, and recording those 1/4 mile runs - facing forward, and - for those days when looky-loo's get kissing close to your rear and rear end you - a back facing camera, as well!
 
I agree that a dual dash cam should be available for all cars. Truthfully, I'd like one with 3 cameras: front, rear and cabin, along with GPS location stamp. I haven't found anything available like this yet. I did find one triple camera, but it's actually a rear view mirror, and doesn't have GPS functionality. I'm going to wire in a rear view and a cabin camera, then build a small electronic switch using a 555 timing chip to alternate automatically between views. Best I can come up with.