Tesla has once again upgraded its mobile application for remote car supervision. Users will soon be able to watch live video feed coming from the EV’s Autopilot cameras.
There are three new features in total. The first one comes in the form of redesigned widgets. The second one enables flexible control over Tesla Powerwall, a stationary battery that you can install at home to get an emergency power source. Furthermore, you can use it to store up electricity when it is cheap and spend it when the rates are the highest.
Third, perhaps most importantly, the app gives you access to a live video feed from Full Self-Driving cameras mounted outside the car. More specifically, the feature is not showing up in the app right now for some reason, but a source code leak confirms that it is included with the update, so it should be activated soon. Tesla first announced it around a year ago.
The older implementation of the surveillance system enabled users to watch the footage on their infotainment display or home PC (by removing the memory card from the car and inserting it into a card reader). It may not have been as useful as the new implementation, but still useful to track down various vandals or perpetrators. In a recent video from Russia (attached here), a Tesla car filmed a BMW driver scratching it, then driving away. We are told she was found and charged for the damage.