yah, at the reveal they had rear-view cameras instead of mirrors and then they disappeared in favor of mirrors due to regulatory problems. so even as late as the Geneva auto show the side mirrors were on there. but now they gone back to the original idea of rear-view cameras on the images where you order the X on all sites except US and Canada...... so maybe we'll see that outside of northamerica when we finally get the vehicle.
The switch back to the side-view cameras may also be a sign that Tesla is becoming more confident about their status in the public eye and the acceptance of the Model X. The rumor I heard about the removal of the cameras was that they didn't want people to start focusing on the cameras and going down that rabbit hole, so they made a decision to put the regular rear view mirrors on the prototype car and on the website so that particular issue would be a non-issue. With the success of the Model S, maybe they feel that people will focus more on the potential greatness of the X and that the side-view camera issue is becoming less and less of a potential distraction from the car itself. It could also be that they are getting indications from the regulatory agencies that the likeliehood of approval of the side-view cameras is high.
I think the side-view cameras are fantastic. I saw a demo of them in operation and in my opinion, they are a much superior solution to providing a driver visibility to the sides of the car. Some people are concerned about the reliability of the system, but I think that it is a small issue because even if you had a failure of the cameras, you still have visibility to the sides, you just have to move back to the analog (turning your head) method. It's kind of the same issue if someone breaks their physical side mirror, you car isn't disabled and you can still turn your head to see whats on the side of your car, but maybe just not as easily or completely as having the mirror/camera available.
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