Tesla says a new way to clean cameras are coming

Tesla announced on X that it is working on a new way to keep the cameras clean on the Cybertruck.

Hopefully, it will make its way to other Tesla vehicles because it is a common problem with the performance of its advanced driver assist systems (ADAS).

When driving using Tesla’s Autopilot or Full Self-Driving (Supervised) suite of driver-assist features, you will often get an alert that the system might not work properly because “one or more cameras are obstructed” due to dirt or snow coming off the road and into the lenses.

For Cybertruck, that’s an even problem because the rear-view camera is the only way to look behind the vehicle when the tonneau cover is up.

It led to some owners complaining that they need to remember to clean the camera at the back of the truck almost every time they use it, especially in the winter.

Tesla responded to some of those comments through its ‘Tesla AI’ account on X. One owner specifically asked if Tesla is planning a solution for when it achieves “unsupervised self-driving” because it then can’t expect someone to always be able to clean the cameras and Tesla responded:

On a more serious note, a more comprehensive cleaning solution is being worked on.

Tesla didn’t elaborate on the solution or when it would be available.

Back in 2019, we reported on Tesla applying for a patent on technology “to use laser beams to clean debris off its cars automatically.” It mused that it could be used to clean cameras, but nothing came out of the patent application.

Tesla says that it plans to achieve unsupervised self-driving capability in California and Texas around Q2 2025, but the latest data makes this sound extremely unlikely, to say the least.

Electrek’s Take

I doubt that it will be lasers, though it would be cool, but there’s undoubtedly a need for a solution.

In my own experience with FSD in the Quebec winter, I get alerts of obstructed cameras literally every other drive.

Tesla has already implemented heaters, which help some, but other than the front-facing cameras, which benefit from the windshield wipers, there’s a need for more.

What’s interesting here is Tesla basically admits that for unsupervised self-driving, which was part of the question it answered, it needs to add extra hardware to make it work.