Tesla Cybertruck Side View Camera Spotted In 'Jay Leno’s Garage' Feature

Tesla Cybertruck side-view camera screens may have spotted during the all-electric pickup's feature in Jay Leno's Garage. A Tesla Cybertruck Owners' Club member, OneLapper, identified the side-view camera screen and shared a picture of his discovery with the rest of the group. 

"Spotted this in the Cybertruck feature by Jay Leno on CNBC," he wrote. "Is this possibly the side-view camera screen with a black cover over it, or is it only a door speaker?" Many people agreed with OneLapper's assessment. 

One Cybertruck Owners' Club member, Regenshire, said: "I assume you are correct and that those are not ready for primetime test version of the mirror displays. That is where I would want them. Tesla has to be working on what those displays would look like since they keep talking about how they want to get rid of side mirrors. I believe the NHTSA is currently examining allowing camera-based mirrors in the future, so hopefully those laws change by the time the Cybertruck is live."

Tesla Cybertruck's Interior Side View Camera Screen Spotted (Covered)?? https://t.co/mGdREEUKtE pic.twitter.com/dAc6XCqmYb

— Cybertruckownersclub.com (@CybertruckOC) June 11, 2020

Onelapper later edited his post with his theory on why Tesla would cover up the side-view camera screens. He suggested that Tesla had covered them because it was still waiting for federal approval, as Regenshire had said in his comment.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been exploring the regulations and changes it would need to make for autonomous vehicles in the last couple of months. In October 2019, the NHTSA released an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) seeking public opinion about camera-based rear visibility systems or Camera Monitor Systems (CMS). 

The ANPR was the NHTSA's response to a 2014 petition filed by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and Tesla. Daimler Trucks North America filed a similar petition in 2015. According to FreightWaves, NHTSA received about 600 comments from the ANPR, and the majority of them were in favor of CMS. 

So far, Stoneridge Inc. truck was granted a 5-year exemption to install its CMS called MirrorEye in its vehicles. Stoneridge received permission from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Earlier this year, Nuro--the self-driving vehicle that delivers groceries in Arizona--was permitted to omit side-view mirrors and a windshield in its car design for the R2 by the NHTSA.

The NHTSA's report was released in April 2020 and discussed the possible changes traditional vehicle designs would undergo with autonomy. It also covers some possible tests and procedures vehicles may need to pass before receiving approval from the NHTSA or other authorities on the matter. The NHTSA's findings will probably directly impact the final design of Tesla's Cybertruck, specifically whether or not it will have side mirrors or use CMS. 

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