---
title: "China Forces Tesla to Enable Cabin Camera for Driver Surveillance: Update Affects 2.74 Million Electric Vehicles"
description: "Chinese regulators have ordered Tesla to activate the cabin camera to monitor the driver's gaze. The software update will affect 2.74 million electric vehicles, and combined with the door handle campaign, the total reaches 5.72 million."
date: 2026-08-23T17:29:21.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/tesla-china-recall-cabin-camera-driver-surveillance
tags: [tesla, china, recall, driver-monitoring, autonomous-driving, model-3, model-y]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# China Forces Tesla to Enable Cabin Camera for Driver Surveillance: Update Affects 2.74 Million Electric Vehicles

![Driver wearing a mask and gloves works on a laptop inside a Tesla while the cabin camera monitors his actions](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/24/tesla-kitay-otziv-kamera-slezhenie-za-voditelem/tesla-kitay-otziv-kamera-slezhenie-za-voditelem-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Chinese regulators have ordered Tesla to strengthen driver monitoring via a cabin camera that tracks gaze direction while the SAE level-2 assistant is in use.
- The over-the-air software update will affect 2,740,642 Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles produced in Shanghai between March 2019 and December 7, 2025.
- Including the door handle campaign, the total recall volume in the PRC is 5,716,552 vehicles.

Chinese regulators have imposed new requirements on Tesla that go beyond the already-known door handle campaign. This time, authorities have ordered the company to strengthen monitoring of driver behavior using a camera pointed into the cabin of the electric vehicle. The corresponding software update will affect 2,740,642 Tesla vehicles operating in the PRC. According to local supervisory bodies, previous measures to monitor driver attentiveness proved insufficient, especially when the level-2 driving assistant (per SAE classification) is in use.

### Campaign to Strengthen Driver Monitoring

According to the position of Chinese regulators, Tesla must ensure surveillance of the driver's gaze direction so that they do not look away from the road while the level-2 driving assistant is functioning. The entire campaign is being carried out as an over-the-air software update: electric vehicle owners will not need to visit service centers. The recall campaign covers nearly 2.8 million Model 3 and Model Y vehicles produced at Tesla's Shanghai plant between March 2019 and December 7, 2025.

### How Tesla Monitored the Steering Wheel Before

Historically, the company relied on a steering wheel sensor that determined whether the wheel encountered characteristic resistance when turned, indicating that the driver's hands were on it. This is how control was maintained over the requirement that the driver's hands remain on the wheel for the majority of the trip. However, as autopilot developed, abuses increased: some companies began openly selling devices that could fool the automation, and videos spread online showing Tesla drivers not holding the wheel and even sitting in the passenger seat.

### The History of the Cabin Camera

The cabin-facing camera has been present in the Model 3 since the model's debut in 2017, appeared in the Model Y after the crossover hit the market in 2020, and was added to the higher-end Model S and Model X after their restyling in January 2021. In the US market, the company began actively using this camera to monitor driver condition only in May 2021. It was stated that the camera does not record video of the cabin and is used only to track the driver's eye position. In China, the company began using the cabin camera this year, when the Tesla Assisted Driving system—known as FSD in other markets—became available to local customers.

### Fooling the Automation with Mannequins

In China, video reports have already emerged showing that the camera can be "fooled" with a plastic mannequin head. Drivers placed mannequins with a fixed gaze in front of the camera, and some managed to drive in assistant mode without real road monitoring for up to 30 minutes at a time. Before this, Tesla long resisted calls to enable the cabin camera in China, citing the specifics of local legislation. Now the company is forced to use it precisely at the authorities' request—and with more effective algorithms than originally.

### Contradictory Data

In the public domain, there are discrepancies in emphasis and interpretation. On the one hand, Tesla previously emphasized that the cabin camera does not record video and is used only to track gaze, while practice in China and regulator requirements point to its actual use for video surveillance of the driver. On the other hand, different outlets characterize the scale and reason for the recall differently: some sources emphasize the door handle issue, others speak of a "record three million" vehicles, and still others focus on the driver surveillance system. According to the main text, the camera campaign covers 2,740,642 vehicles, and including the door handle campaign, the total recall volume in the PRC is 5,716,552 electric vehicles.

### Scale of the Recall Campaigns

Thus, including the campaign concerning door handles, Tesla will have to recall a total of 5,716,552 electric vehicles operating within the PRC. This makes the current series of measures one of the largest in the history of the Chinese automotive market and underscores that the regulatory focus is shifting from individual design details to driver monitoring systems and driving assistant safety.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Chinese recall of Tesla electric vehicles will also cover the driver surveillance system window-new](https://3dnews.ru/1147273/kitayskiy-otziv-elektromobiley-tesla-zatronet-i-sistemu-slegeniya-za-voditelem) - Основной источник: цифры 2 740 642 и 5 716 552, история камеры, манекены, сроки выпуска в Шанхае.
- [China launches largest-ever car recall over door handle issues](https://www.gazeta.ru/auto/news/2026/08/23/29160385.shtml) - Подтверждает кампанию по дверным ручкам как крупнейший отзыв; дата публикации 23.08.2026.
- [Tesla recalls a record 3 million vehicles in China](https://korrespondent.net/business/auto/4905144-Tesla-otzyvaet-rekordnye-3-myllyona-avtomobylei-v-kytae) - Округлённая оценка «3 миллиона» согласуется с кампанией по ручкам (≈2,98 млн при вычитании из 5 716 552).
- [Tesla announces largest recall in China's history over door handle color](https://ont.by/ru/world-ru/view/tesla-objjavila-krupnejshij-otzyv-v-istorii-kitaja-iz-za-tsveta-dvernyx-ruchek-324279-2026) - Акцентирует причину в дверных ручках; дополняет контекст суммарного отзыва.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: How many Tesla electric vehicles will be affected by the driver surveillance update?
**A:** The software update will affect 2,740,642 Tesla electric vehicles in China—these are Model 3 and Model Y produced at the Shanghai plant between March 2019 and December 7, 2025.

### Q: Why did Chinese regulators require the cabin camera to be enabled?
**A:** In the regulators' view, previous measures to monitor driver attentiveness were insufficient while the SAE level-2 driving assistant is in use, so Tesla must ensure surveillance of the driver's gaze direction.

### Q: Will Tesla owners have to go to a service center?
**A:** No, the update is delivered over-the-air (OTA); owners will not need to visit a service center.

### Q: What is the total Tesla recall volume in China including the door handles?
**A:** Including the door handle campaign, Tesla must recall a total of 5,716,552 electric vehicles operating in the PRC.