Tesla Zoom call demoed on the Model Y using the cabin camera as the app is coming to 'all new Tesla vehicles soon'

Tesla owners finally get a chance to preview what the interior cabin camera above their vehicles' rear-view mirror actually sees, courtesy of a promo video for the upcoming Zoom app integration with Tesla's infotainment system. The ad features a Zoom call from the Model Y, as Elon Musk promised Tesla Zoom integration will be coming with a future update.

At about 1:34:38 into the lengthy Zoomtopia 2022 conference keynote video below, one can see the Zoom Group's Product Manager Nitasha Walia teasing the Zoom Meetings app arrival to "all new Tesla models" and "soon." 

When Tesla released its V11 software update in the spring, its teaser video featured what seemed to be a Zoom icon on the infotainment system's home screen. After much speculation whether the icon meant that Zoom Meetings will be possible from Tesla's vehicles directly, Elon Musk himself confirmed that this will be "a future feature" indeed.

It now seems that the Tesla Zoom integration launch is imminent, as the promo video featured during Zoomtopia demonstrates a Zoom call carried out while the electric vehicle is topping up at a Supercharger. The driver invites someone for a quick Zoom call and hops into the Model Y to launch and carry out the videoconference meeting directly from the infotainment screen.

What might be somewhat controversial in the Tesla Zoom integration promo video is that the app seems to be using the cabin interior camera located above the rear-view mirror of the Model Y for the video chat.  Owners have been wondering about its scope of vision for a good while now, while Tesla explicitly states that the "cabin camera can determine driver inattentiveness and provide you with audible alerts, to remind you to keep your eyes on the road when Autopilot is engaged." As for video feed sharing, Tesla is adamant that the footage can only be used in case of accidents or for troubleshooting:

By default, images and video from the camera do not leave the vehicle itself and are not transmitted to anyone, including Tesla, unless you enable data sharing. If you enable data sharing and a safety critical event occurs (such as a collision), Model Y shares short cabin camera video clips with Tesla to help us develop future safety enhancements and continuously improve the intelligence of features that rely on the cabin camera. Data may also be shared if diagnostics are required on cabin camera functionality. Cabin camera does not perform facial recognition or any other method of identity verification. To protect your privacy, cabin camera data is not associated with your vehicle identification number.

Thus, a third-party app like Zoom using the cabin camera for video chats would be an eyebrow-raiser, but Tesla will probably clarify the what and the how when it announces the Zoom app integration with one of its subsequent software updates.

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