Tesla Model X Owners & Service Manuals

Tesla Model X: Using Dashcam

Dashcam records footage of your vehicle's surroundings when the touchscreen is powered on (see Starting and Powering Off). Dashcam does not record video when your vehicle is powered off. Use Dashcam to record driving incidents, such as a collision.

Dashcam requires a properly formatted USB flash drive, inserted into a front USB port (preferably in the glovebox) in order to store and retrieve footage (see USB Drive Requirements for Recording Videos).

Enable Dashcam by going to Controls > Safety > Dashcam and choose:

  • Auto: Dashcam automatically saves a recording to the USB flash drive in situations where Model X detects a safety-critical event, such as a collision or airbag deployment. When Auto is selected, detection can vary and is subject to your vehicle's power, sleep, and Autopilot state.

NOTE: Several factors determine whether or not Dashcam automatically saves a recording of a safety- critical event (for example, amount of force, whether or not airbags deployed, etc.). Do not rely on Dashcam to automatically record video of all safety- critical events.

  • Manual: You must touch the Dashcam icon to save a recording of the most recent 10 minutes of driving to the USB flash drive.
  • On Honk: When you press the horn, Dashcam saves a recording of the most recent 10 minutes of driving to the USB flash drive.

Once enabled, you can manually save clips by touching:

The Dashcam icon in the app launcher while the vehicle is in Drive (you can add the Dashcam app to My Apps at the bottom of the touchscreen for easy access, see Customizing My Apps). The touchscreen displays a message confirming if the footage is saved. When Model X is in Park, touching the Dashcam icon brings up the Viewer.

The Dashcam icon on the Controls screen.

The Dashcam controls are:

RECORDING: Shows that Dashcam is recording. To save video footage, touch the icon. To pause recording, press and hold the icon.

PAUSED: Shows that Dashcam is paused. To resume recording, touch the icon. To avoid losing video footage, pause Dashcam before removing the flash drive.

SAVED: Shows that footage is saved. You can also save dashcam clips by touching the Dashcam icon in the app launcher while Driving.