Tesla is ditching the ultrasonic sensors on the Model 3 and Model Y. Instead, only cameras will work

While other manufacturers are only increasing the number of various sensors on their cars, Tesla is reducing their number. Last year, the manufacturer’s cheaper models got rid of radars. And starting this month, the new Model 3 and Model Y cars will reach buyers without ultrasonic sensors.

This applies to machines for the North American, European, Middle Eastern and Taiwanese markets.

Previously, cars had 12 sensors on the front and rear bumpers. They were mainly involved in preventing collisions at low speed (for example, when parking).

Instead of radar and ultrasonic sensors, cars now rely on Tesla Vision, which uses only cameras. As the company notes, thanks to this technology, the Model 3 and Model Y have maintained or even improved their active safety scores in the US and Europe, and also work better with the emergency braking system in front of pedestrians.

During the short-term transition to Tesla Vision, new cars without additional sensors may limit some functions, including parking assistant, automatic parking, Summon (moving the car via a smartphone application), and Smart Summon (automatically bringing the car to a position specified in the application). They should recover later with a system software update.

The transition of the more expensive Model S and Model X to Tesla Vision technology is planned for 2023.