Featured Image Credit: @tiantianyueye/Twitter

Tesla China announced the nationwide release of the company’s 2020.24 OTA software update recently via local social media platform Weibo. Based on the video presentation Tesla China shared along with the news, update 2020.24 is similar to OTA software update 2020.24.5 released in the United States and Europe a couple of weeks ago. 

According to a previous Tesmanian report, update 2020.24.5 focused on camera features and user-friendly improvements for drivers/owners. Tesla owners in China received Dashcam Viewer improvements which indicate when Sentry Mode is triggered with a red dot. They also received Tesla’s Backup Camera improvements, allowing drivers to view video streams from the car’s side repeater cameras. 

Teslas in China also received Autopilot’s Driving Visualization improvements, allowing them to detect traffic lights, stops signs, and other selected road signs in the country. However, Tesla China’s 2020.24 update video did not mention the Cabin Camera feature released in the United States in the 2020.24.5 update. 

China has started a massive update to 2020.24 @vincent13031925 pic.twitter.com/OC3ryuZ014

— 天天越野跑 (@tiantianyueye) June 26, 2020

Tesla’s Cabin Camera feature allows drivers to enable the in-cabin camera found near the rearview mirror inside the car. The EV automaker planned to activate the camera for its Robotaxi fleet. 

The absence of Cabin Camera in Tesla China’s 2020.24 update hints that the automaker could introduce features for its Robotaxi Fleet one country at a time, starting with the United States. The move would be understandable since every country has different road rules, regulations, and driving behavior. It may take time for Tesla to receive regulatory approval for features supporting its autonomous vehicles. 

However, Tesla China seems to be diligently working on Autopilot for the country. Just last month, Tesla China Global VP Grace Tao invited fresh college grads to apply for the company’s local Autopilot team. Indeed, Tesla posted job positions based in Shanghai for an Autopilot & navigation maps engineer, a mechanical engineer for Autopilot hardware, a data engineer, and a product support engineer. 

Other than the Cabin Camera feature, though, Tesla owners in China received everything else US-based drivers received in the 2020.24.5 update, including all of the driver-friendly improvements. Walk-Away Door Lock, On-Route Battery Warmup, and additional language support were all part of Tesla China’s 2020.24 update as well. 

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Hat Tip: @tiantianyueye/Twitter