Tesla to drop sensors before camera-based software is ready

Tesla will begin removing ultrasonic sensors from its electric cars, but admits the cameras designed to replace them aren't yet ready for customers.

This week Tesla announced it would stop using ultrasonic sensors in its vehicles, with the company’s suite of cameras – known as ‘Tesla Vision’ – eventually expected to perform all duties related to a car's safety and driver-assist features.

However, Tesla says some basic features – including Park Assist, Autopark, Summon, and Smart Summon – won’t initially be available on vehicles delivered without ultrasonic sensors, but will arrive through a software update later on.

The mid-size Model 3 and Model Y will be first to receive the change in the coming months, with the larger Model S and Model X to begin the transition in 2023.

It’s understood the 12 ultrasonic sensors currently fitted to Teslas are mainly used for parking assistance, but will be replaced by a 360-degree array of cameras currently fitted to its vehicles.

“For a short period of time during this transition, Tesla Vision vehicles that are not equipped with [ultrasonic sensors] will be delivered with some features temporarily limited or inactive,” the company said in a statement.

“In the near future, once these features achieve performance parity to today’s vehicles, they will be restored via a series of over-the-air software updates.”

It’s a similar strategy the US carmaker employed when it began phasing out radars from its electric vehicles in the US in May 2021 (followed by Australia this June), with its semi-autonomous ‘Autopilot’ system also relying on Tesla Vision cameras.