Tesla may be ahead of the automotive curve, but there's one driver-assist technology it's never been able to implement: side-view cameras.

The car maker wants to replace the traditional, if not cumbersome, side mirrors with high-tech cameras to improve vehicles' aerodynamic performance and fuel efficiency," according to Motor Trend.

Two years in the making, Tesla's renewed push comes just as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a final ruling that will require back-up cameras in all cars weighing less than 10,000 pounds by May 2018.

"Automakers already provide rearview cameras as a standard or optional feature on two-thirds of the nation's 50 top-selling vehicles," the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers said in a statement of support for Tesla's side-view camera plan.

Both organizations have filed a petition with NHTSA, seeking the necessary approval to allow vehicles to use cameras as an alternative to conventional side-view and rearview mirrors.

"Today's mirrors provide a robust and simple means to view the surrounding areas of a vehicle," the Alliance said on Friday. "Cameras will open opportunities for additional design flexibility and innovation."

If eventually executed, this could mark a change in the way vehicles are manufactured. But this isn't the first time someone has tried to ditch mirrors for a more comprehensive technology. According to the Alliance, the U.S. Department of Energy and automakers partnered in the 1990s to produce an energy-efficient concept car with cameras where most drivers expect side-view mirrors.

For more, see 5 Ways Tesla Is Transforming the Auto Industry, as well as NHTSA's Rear-View Camera Ruling Will Save Lives.

Elon Musk's car company has enough to worry about, though, without adding side-view cameras to its fight. Last month, Tesla Motors slammed New Jersey officials, including the office of Gov. Chris Christie, for moving forward with rules that would ban direct sales of Tesla's electric vehicles in the state.

Now, the firm is appealing the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission's decision, contending that forcing Tesla to operate under a franchise agreement would be self-defeating, the New York Times reported.

Tesla operates out of two stores in the state, one at the Short Hills Mall, and the other in the Garden State Plaza in Paramus; it also runs a service center in Springfield. But the Motor Vehicle Commission's decision means those stores will have to shut down.

For more, watch PCMag Live in the video below, which discusses Tesla's vision of side-view cameras.

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