Tesla Switches All Model 3 And Y Autopilot Systems To Optical Only

Tesla has finalized its transition away from radar for autopilot features, with all-new Model 3 and Model Y vehicles sold in North America sporting exclusively optical driver assistance. In a blog post, the manufacturer said that short-term limitations in “Tesla Vision” would pave the way for superior performance down the road.

Radar and lidar systems are expensive and can take a lot of processing power. Tesla has said it’s confident optical systems can achieve the same results with the help of neural net processing.

That said, the technology isn’t there yet. The new vehicles will have their autosteering limited to speeds below 75 miles per hour with a larger minimum following distance.

“Full self-driving” features may be disabled entirely, such as the ability to summon a parked Tesla to your location or the $10,000 software package’s “emergency lane departure avoidance.”

Customers who ordered their vehicles before the change was announced will be informed before delivery is accepted.

A tweet from Tesla CEO Elon Musk said an update to the autopilot would arrive in two weeks, with the possibility of enabling FSD features.

It’s not the first time Tesla has chosen to deliver cars with automated driving features in a beta state, essentially using early adopters and public roadways as its testing grounds. The decision attracted controversy after several deadly crashes and arrests, with users regularly ignoring the warning that the systems still require human supervision.

Other automakers are sticking to a hybrid approach. Musk has said in the past that lidar is a “crutch” and a “fool’s errand,” but Edge Case Research CTO Phil Koopman told CNBC that Tesla may wind up needing radar again in the future.

“Tesla’s features are currently limited to this SAE Level 2. If in the future Tesla wants to achieve SAE Level 4 (automated vehicle with no human driver safety supervision — which is not the current capability), then it would prudent to use every type of sensor they can get, including cameras, radar, lidar, and possibly others,” he said.