Cybertruck may ship with Autopilot only as Tesla confirms front bumper camera for parking and off-road

Tesla started equipping new Model S, Model X, and even Model Y/3 batches with various versions of its so-called Hardware 4.0 (HW4) kit earlier this year, ostensibly for an upgrade of the Full Self-Driving Beta autonomous driving feature. The kit includes more side- and pillar-mounted cameras with higher sensor resolution as well as a new computer to make sense of it all.

It also started installing a front bumper camera, starting with the Cybertruck, and is likely to continue with the Model 3 Highland release in the US, even though the global version of the Highland doesn't have one. Elon Musk, however, has indicated that HW4 will be an afterthought until Tesla manages to make all of the upcoming FSD Beta V12 features run on the current HW3 that most of its vehicles brandish.

Cybertruck FSD option may be delayed

This could delay the Cybertruck's FSD Beta support rollout, but in the meantime its rich set of new cameras and sensors could be used for improving the Autopilot feature, as that's the only one Tesla actually mentions in the support page.

Even when FSD is operational on the Cybertruck, however, the front bumper camera may not participate in the HW4 data flow towards the FSD computer. In its interactive overview video, Tesla confirms that the Cybertruck's front bumper camera is simply there "to increase visibility ahead during low-speed parking" sessions.

While the front camera is mainly there to compensate for the lack of ultrasonic parking sensors that Tesla ditched to save $144 per vehicle, it apparently can also assist in "off-roading." The short and high front of the Cybertruck and its relatively massive footprint mean that its drivers may appreciate the presence of a front bumper camera feed more than on Tesla's other vehicle models.

As for the Cybertruck front cameras that will actually be used for Autopilot and, potentially, FSD duties, Tesla has installed them behind the windshield, as usual. In the "wiper blade" section of the interactive Cybertruck overview, Tesla mentions that the giant 4-feet monowiper is meant to clean the line of sight "for the driver, passengers, and the Autopilot cameras located in the overhead console." There you have it, no mention of FSD on the Cybertruck so far.

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