Tesla Cars Will Soon Get This Huge Feature

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According to Elon Musk, Tesla cars’ autopilot cameras will turn into dashcams with the incoming Tesla Software v9 update

Elon Musk has tweeted that the next version of Tesla’s car operating system — Tesla Software V9 — will have a feature that will turn the cars’ built-in cameras used for its autopilot abilities into dashcams.

Credit: Tom's Guide

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The dashcam feature has been teased before, but only now Musk is saying that it will definitely come free with the next version of the operating system. 

Tesla cars have eight cameras on board that work with the autopilot software. While Musk gave no details — except saying this will be a beta version of the feature until drivers get the final one in a 9.1 update — I imagine that it will permanently record the last few minutes of driving.

MORE: How to Use Tesla's Autopilot (and How Not to)

The objective is to have your car help you identify potential accidents in case of collision. Or, if you are in Russia, just use it to film the weirdest stuff you can come across on a road and upload it to YouTube.

The new Tesla Software V9 will be a major update to the car manufacturer’s operating system, with a complete user interface redesign, navigational waypoints for the autopilot (just like a jet), and a retro video game easter egg that will let you play old Atari games like Asteroids, Tempest, Missile Command, and, of course, Pole Position.

Jesus Diaz
Jesus Diaz

Jesus Diaz founded the new Sploid for Gawker Media after seven years working at Gizmodo, where he helmed the lost-in-a-bar iPhone 4 story and wrote old angry man rants, among other things. He's a creative director, screenwriter, and producer at The Magic Sauce, and currently writes for Fast Company and Tom's Guide.