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Tesla Hardware 4 camera ports hint at 360-degree view with no blind spots
The recent leaks of Tesla’s Hardware 4 computer provided a pretty clear teaser of the upcoming changes coming to the electric vehicle maker’s Autopilot unit. While there is still much to be learned about HW4, the leaks suggest that the number of cameras in Tesla’s electric vehicles may be increased to 11.
Hardware 4, as its name suggests, is Tesla’s next-generation Autopilot computer. Elon Musk noted during the Q4 and FY 2022 earnings call that HW4 should be capable of operating 500% to 600% safer than a human driver. The existing Hardware 3 computer being rolled out to vehicles like the Model 3 and Model Y today are equipped with Hardware 3, which Musk noted should be capable of operating 200% to 300% safer than a human driver.
Hardware 4 and Tesla Vision
Considering the electric vehicle maker’s focus on Tesla Vision, it is pertinent for FSD and Autopilot to see and analyze road conditions very well in real-time. With this in mind, and as per the Hardware 4 leaks that were recently posted on Twitter by prolific Tesla hacker @greentheonly, it would appear that the electric vehicle maker is increasing the number of its cameras to 11.
A look at the Hardware 4 computer would show 12 fully-populated camera connectors, with one being marked as “Spare.” Of the remaining 11, one will still be used for the cabin camera while ten will be used for the vehicle’s exterior. This is not surprising at all as the company adopts a similar system with its existing eight-camera layout for its vehicles today.
Hardware 3 vs. Hardware 4 Cameras
For context, Tesla’s existing layout features an eight-camera setup: one above the rear license plate, one in each door pillar, three mounted on the windshield above the rearview mirror, and one mounted to each front fender. A radar unit and ultrasonic sensors were also used in the past, though Tesla phased these out as the company focused on its development of Tesla Vision.
The leaked Hardware 4 images list the cameras as the following: “F-SVC,” “L-SVC,” “R-SVC,” “L-FF-Rear,” “R-FF-Rear,” “L-FF-Side,” “R-FF-Side,” “Wide,” “Main,” “Backup,” and “Selfie.” As per the Tesla hacker, the names are a bit cryptic, but based on how they are listed, one could speculate where the cameras will be placed in a Tesla equipped with a Hardware 4 computer.
Potential Hardware 4 Camera Placements
Immediately noticeable in the leaked images are the three cameras marked “F-SVC,” “L-SVC,” and “R-SVC.” The Tesla Parts Catalog shows that “SVC” refers to vehicle bumpers, so with these in mind, it would appear that Hardware 4 would be using three bumper cameras. Considering the references to “F,” “L,” and “R” SVC placements, the Tesla hacker noted that one of the Hardware 4 cameras might be placed in the front bumper, while two may be placed on both sides of the rear bumpers for cross traffic.
Also notable are the Hardware 4 camera slots listed as “FF.” A total of four cameras are listed with these letters: “L-FF-Rear,” “R-FF-Rear,” “L-FF-Side,” and “R-FF-Side.” The Tesla hacker speculated that “FF” might refer to “Front Fender,” which would suggest that the cameras in the pillar may be moved to the front fender. Other Tesla watchers, however, have suggested that “FF” may also mean “Front Facing,” “Full-Frame” for higher resolution images, or “Far Field.”
No Blind Spots and 360-degree-view
If the Hardware 4 leaks are accurate, it would suggest that Tesla would be increasing the number of cameras by two as it rolls out vehicles that are equipped with its new Autopilot computer. Comparing the existing camera setup in Hardware 3 and the potential setup of Hardware 4, it would appear that the new cameras will be those placed in the rear bumper. This may also suggest that the ultrasonic sensors that were phased out in the rear bumpers might be replaced with cameras.
Considering the potential setup of the Hardware 4 cameras, it would appear that Tesla would finally be rolling out a 360-degree view of its vehicles, which is a highly-requested feature among owners. It would also mean that some blind spots in existing cars would be addressed. Overall, Hardware 4 might not just be a step up in performance; it might also be a notable step up in safety and vision.
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Elon Musk
Ford CEO Farley says Tesla is not who to look at for EV expertise
Interestingly, Farley has been one of the most hellbent CEOs in terms of a legacy automaker standpoint to push the EV effort. It did not go according to plan, as Ford took a $19.5 billion charge and retreated from its EV push in late 2025.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a recent podcast interview that Tesla is not who Americans should look at to beat Chinese carmakers.
The comments have sparked quite a bit of outrage from Tesla fans on X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk.
Farley said that Chinese automakers are better examples of how to beat competitors. He said (via the Rapid Response Podcast):
“If you’re an American and you want us to beat the Chinese in the car business, you’re all going to want to pay attention, not necessarily to Tesla. Nothing against Tesla—they’ve been doing great—but they really don’t have an updated vehicle. The best in the business for us, cost-wise and competition-wise, supply chain, manufacturing expertise, and the I.P. in the vehicle, was really BYD. In this next cycle of EV customers in the U.S., they want pickups and utilities and all these different body styles. But they want them at $30,000, not $50,000. Like the first inning, they want them affordably.”
Despite Farley’s synopsis, it is worth mentioning that Tesla had the best-selling passenger vehicle in the world last year, and in China in March, as the Model Y continued its global dominance over other vehicles.
Musk responded to Farley’s comments by stating:
“This is before Supervised FSD is approved in China. Limiting factor is production output in Shanghai.”
This is before supervised FSD is approved in China. Limiting factor is production output in Shanghai.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 19, 2026
Interestingly, Farley has been one of the most hellbent CEOs in terms of a legacy automaker standpoint to push the EV effort. It did not go according to plan, as Ford took a $19.5 billion charge and retreated from its EV push in late 2025.
Ford cancels all-electric F-150 Lightning, announces $19.5 billion in charges
Instead, Ford is “doubling down on its affordable” EVs and said it would pivot from its previous plans.
Reaction from Tesla fans was pretty much how you would expect. Many said they have lost a lot of respect for Farley after his comments; others believe he is the last CEO anyone should be taking advice on EVs from.
Nevertheless, Farley’s plans are bold and brash; many consider Tesla the most ideal company to replicate EV efforts from. It will be interesting to see if Ford can rebound from this big adjustment, and hopefully, Farley’s plans to replicate efforts from BYD work out the way he hopes.
Elon Musk
SpaceX wins its first MARS contract but it comes with a catch
NASA awarded SpaceX a $175 million Mars rover contract while the White House proposes cutting the mission.
NASA just signed a $175.7 million contract with SpaceX to launch a Mars rover that the White House is simultaneously trying to defund. The contract, awarded on April 16, 2026, tasks SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy with launching the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosalind Franklin rover from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, no earlier than late 2028. It would mark the first time SpaceX has ever sent a payload to Mars.
Under NASA’s Rosalind Franklin Support and Augmentation project, known as ROSA, the agency is providing braking engines for the rover’s descent stage, radioisotope heater units that use decaying plutonium to keep the rover warm on the Martian surface, additional electronics, and a mass spectrometer instrument, as noted by SpaceNews.
Those nuclear heating units are the reason an American rocket was required at all. U.S. export controls on radioisotope technology mean any payload carrying them must launch on a domestic vehicle, which narrowed the field to SpaceX and United Launch Alliance. Falcon Heavy’s pricing made it the practical choice.
SpaceX is quietly becoming the U.S. Military’s only reliable rocket
Falcon Heavy debuted in February 2018 and has 11 launches to its record. The rocket has not flown since October 2024, when it sent NASA’s Europa Clipper toward Jupiter. The three-core design, built from modified Falcon 9 first stages, gives it the lift capacity needed for deep space planetary missions that a single Falcon 9 cannot reach.
The Rosalind Franklin rover has been sitting in storage in Europe for years. It was originally due to launch in 2022 as a joint mission with Russia, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ended that partnership, leaving the rover built but stranded without a launch vehicle or landing hardware. NASA stepped back in through a 2024 agreement with ESA to rescue the mission. The rover is designed to drill up to two meters below the Martian surface in search of evidence of past life, a science objective no previous mission has attempted at that depth.
The contradiction at the center of this story is hard to ignore. The White House’s fiscal year 2027 budget proposal included no funding for ROSA and did not mention the mission at all in the detailed congressional justification document released April 3.
Musk has long argued that reaching Mars is not optional. “We don’t want to be one of those single planet species, we want to be a multi-planet species.” Whether this particular mission survives Washington’s budget fight, the Falcon Heavy contract means SpaceX is now formally on record as the rocket that could get humanity’s next Mars science mission off the ground.
The timing of this contract carries extra weight given that SpaceX filed confidentially with the SEC in early April and is targeting an IPO roadshow in the week of June 8. It would be the largest public offering in history.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is set to hold its Earnings Call for the first quarter of 2026 on Wednesday, and there are a lot of interesting things that are swirling around in terms of speculation from investors.
With the company’s executives, including CEO Elon Musk, answering a handful of questions that investors submit through the Say platform, fans want to know a lot of things about a lot of things.
These five questions come from Retail Investors, who are normal, everyday shareholders:
- When will we have the Optimus v3 reveal? When will Optimus production start, since we ended the Model S and Model X production earlier than mid-year? What’s the expected Optimus production rate exiting this year? What are the initial targeted skills?
- What milestones are you targeting for unsupervised FSD and Robotaxi expansion beyond Austin this year, and how will that drive recurring revenue?
- How will Hardware 3 cars reach Unsupervised Full Self-Driving?
- When do you expect Unsupervised Full Self-Driving to reach customer cars?
- When will Robotaxi expand past its current limited rollout?
Additionally, these are currently the three questions that are slated to be answered by Institutional Firms, which also answer a handful of questions during the call:
- Now that FSD has been approved in the Netherlands and is expected to launch across Europe this summer, can you discuss your Robotaxi strategy for the region?
- What enabled you to finish the AI5 tapeout early and were there any changes to the original vision? Last week, Elon said AI5 will go into Optimus and the Supercomputer, but one month ago said it would go into the Robotaxi. Has AI5 been dropped from the vehicle roadmap?
- Given the recent NHTSA incident filings, can you update us on the Robotaxi safety data? If safety validation remains the primary bottleneck, why not deploy thousands of vehicles to accelerate the removal of the safety driver?
The questions range through every current Tesla project, including FSD expansion and Optimus. However, many of the answers we will get will likely be repetitive answers we’ve heard in the past.
This is especially pertinent when the questions about when Unsupervised FSD will reach customer cars: we know Musk will say that it will happen this year. Is Tesla capable of that? Maybe. But a more transparent answer that is more revealing of a true timeline would be appreciated.
Hardware 3 owners are anxiously awaiting the arrival of FSD v14 Lite, which was promised to them last year for a release sometime this year.
The Earnings Call is set to take place on Wednesday at market close.
Ford CEO Farley says Tesla is not who to look at for EV expertise
SpaceX wins its first MARS contract but it comes with a catch
