() — Tesla drivers will soon be able to make video calls directly from their vehicle’s touchscreen, Zoom announced Tuesday.
The company said on Tuesday, during its annual Zoom (ZM)topia conference — where it often introduces new features for making remote calls — that its software will come to Tesla’s integrated infotainment center. In a pre-recorded demo video During the event, a Tesla driver is seen making a Zoom call while recharging her vehicle.
The company did not respond to a request for comment on whether it will prevent drivers from using it while driving, as many automakers require the vehicle to be parked for the driver to use the video features. The timing of the release is also unknown.
But the feature itself is something Tesla has been evaluating for years. In May 2020, Tesla CEO Elon Musk he said in a tweet that adding Zoom calling to Tesla vehicles was “definitely a future feature.” In the early days of the covid-19 pandemic, Musk received a ton of tweets calling for Zoom integration; the drivers argued that he would give them another private space to take calls and make use of the existing driver-facing camera found in some Teslas and the big screen.
At the time, a Zoom spokesperson told the pop culture website Mashable that adding video calling support to its infotainment system would not be the safer use case because many people might try to use it while driving.
Zoom also revealed other new tools at Tuesday’s event, including integrating email and calendar services directly into the service, a conversational AI and chatbot that helps solve problems, and support for developers to monetize their applications in the Zoom App Marketplace.
The Zoom news comes as Tesla faces growing competition in the electric vehicle market from established automakers such as Volkswagen, Ford and General Motors. Some investors have raised concerns that Musk is too distracted by Twitter’s purchase of him to pay enough attention to Tesla’s woes.
This week, Musk sold Tesla shares again for a total already approaching $4 billion since he acquired Twitter. Tesla shares have lost 46% of their value so far this year on disappointing sales caused by problems in the supply chain.
Musk’s companies have not always had a strong relationship with Zoom. SpaceX, for example, forbade its employees from using Zoom in April 2020 for “significant privacy and security issues.”