Tesla appears ready to update its exterior camera hardware again, and this time the change lines up with its next-generation AI5 self-driving platform. The move centers on a new Sony-based sensor identified in vehicle firmware as IMX00N, which could succeed the current IMX963 units on AI4/HW4 cars.
A well-known Tesla firmware analyst who goes by “greentheonly” found references to a camera with the model identifier IMX00N in Tesla’s code, pointing to a change in exterior cameras on some new vehicles. In a post on X, green wrote: “Looks like Tesla is changing (upgrading?) cameras in (some?) new cars produced. Where as HW4 to date used exterior cameras with IMX963, now they (might potentially) have something called IMX00N.”
This focuses on exterior side repeater cameras, which feed core features such as Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) suite and Sentry Mode.
These cameras cover side lanes and blind spots, so any change here can affect both automated driving behavior and security video quality.
Current Sony IMX963 hardware
Right now, AI4/HW4 vehicles use a Sony IMX963 sensor rated at 5 megapixels, which replaced the older 1.2‑megapixel cameras used on Hardware 3 cars. This earlier upgrade brought higher resolution, better dynamic range, and stronger low‑light performance, all of which help FSD and Sentry Mode work more reliably in varied lighting.
Tesla last overhauled its exterior cameras in early 2023 when it rolled out the IMX963 sensors. At that time, the company also broadened its camera coverage by adding an extra lens on the front bumper of the updated Model Y in January to improve FSD visibility close to the nose of the vehicle.
Tesla sees AI5 as the second major hardware generation that can fully support autonomous driving, following AI4/HW4. CEO Elon Musk has said AI5 hardware will appear in a limited number of vehicles next year, but wide-scale adoption is not expected until 2027.
Given that schedule, Tesla has a strong reason to prepare higher-spec vision hardware in advance so future cars are ready for more demanding neural network workloads and richer data collection once AI5 is in full use. The side repeater cameras are a key part of that pipeline, since they capture continuous surround imagery that AI systems use for object detection, lane tracking, and safety decisions.
Sony has not released public specifications for a sensor named IMX00N, so its exact resolution, dynamic range, and sensitivity are still unknown. The part may be a new or customized automotive sensor that has not yet appeared in Sony’s official product listings.
Even without specs, the context points to IMX00N as a step up from IMX963, positioned for Tesla’s next phase of camera-based autonomy. For now, the only concrete evidence is green’s firmware finding.
Impact on future vehicles
For buyers of new Tesla vehicles, some cars will ship with camera hardware that is ahead of current software features. Tesla has followed this pattern before, putting newer hardware into cars and then enabling more capability over time through software updates.
AI4/HW4 vehicles remain marketed as capable of self-driving operation, but AI5 is expected to bring higher performance and more efficient data use, and this camera upgrade fits that broader shift. As Tesla continues to invest in higher-quality vision hardware and its AI5 platform, the IMX00N discovery marks another step toward the company’s long-term full autonomy goals.
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