Elon Musk explains why there is a camera inside of the Tesla Model 3

Back in 2017 we learned that the Tesla Model 3 has an inactive camera above the rearview mirror looking into the car. Seems … creepy. Well, recently on Twitter, CEO Elon Musk revealed what that camera is doing there. 

It’s to help Tesla compete with Uber and Lyft in the future, duh. 

So to add your vehicle to Tesla’s ride-hailing fleet, you won’t need to upgrade — there will already be a camera equipped to watch your future customers, just to make sure they’re not making a huge mess in your self-driving car. 

Waymo, which already has an autonomous taxi service in the Phoenix area, has cameras inside its modified Chrysler Pacifica mini-vans. Those are there to check for forgotten items or any damage to the vehicle, as the Verge reported after riding in the robo-car for a day.

Musk knows that most people have a hard time grasping that something they buy today can work with something that doesn’t exist yet, but he promised to explain more later this month. 

So even though you are very much required to be in your vehicle and behind the wheel driving it today, tomorrow is a different story. 

Meanwhile, let’s really hope the cameras aren’t like those in creepy Airbnb rentals (aka secretly recording you).