Tesla Model 3 Finally Getting a Front Bumper Camera

The refreshed Model 3 (2024+) is officially ready to receive its front bumper camera, a feature that all other Teslas have now. The new hardware was revealed in public regulatory findings published by China’s Minister of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), confirming its imminent arrival on new vehicles produced in Giga Shanghai.

The Hard Evidence

The MIIT filings for the Model 3+ explicitly list a front bumper camera as a new feature. Accompanying photos in the documents clearly show a small, circular camera lens situated in the center of the lower bumper intake, leaving no doubt about its placement.

This is one we’ve been waiting a long time to see. Many leaked images of Project Highland, along with some variants spotted near Fremont and Giga Texas around the 2024 Model 3 refresh unveiling, showed a front bumper camera. Even Tesla's official photos of the new Model 3 included the bumper camera, but for some reason, Tesla then chose to launch without it. At the time, the new Model 3 would have been the first Tesla with a front-bumper camera, beating out the Cybertruck, which launched a few months later. Now the Model 3 is the last Tesla model to receive the upgrade, after it recently launched on the Model S and Model X.

Standard Feature

Crucially, this feature doesn’t appear to be coming to just the Model 3+. The filings show that the new camera will be available on several Model 3 variants, making it a standard feature across Tesla’s entire lineup.

This isn’t surprising, as the Model Y refresh introduced the front bumper camera to Tesla’s best-selling vehicle.

Cybertruck

The front bumper camera was a key piece of hardware introduced initially on the Cybertruck. It’s designed to cover the crucial blind spot directly in front of the vehicle, which is particularly helpful for parking and low-speed maneuvers. It is also likely to become an essential requirement for Unsupervised FSD - at least in tight and densely packed areas like parking lots or garages, where the bumper camera’s view is absolutely indispensable.

Retrofits

It recently came to light that the 2021-2025 Model S and Model X can technically support a retrofit of the front bumper camera, as the slot for the camera connector is populated on the AI4 computer in those vehicles.

However, owners of 2024+ Model 3s may not be in such a lucky position. Some, but not all, Model 3s have an empty camera port on the FSD computer, where cameras are directly connected. This inconsistency means that while a retrofit might be possible for some Model 3s, it isn’t a guaranteed upgrade path at this time, unless Tesla works some real magic.

The confirmation of the new camera in the MIIT filings is concrete evidence that Tesla is finally bringing the bumper camera to the Model 3. However, the next question will be how long before it makes its way to China and other markets.

Given Tesla’s quick pace and quiet style, we expect that it will be quietly introduced over the next few months. Given that Giga Shanghai is likely already producing these vehicles, there’s no doubt Giga Berlin and Fremont will not be far behind.