Tesla abandons ultrasonic sensors in new cars and instead focuses on driver assistance via a camera.

Tesla has been published it’s phasing out its cars’ use of ultrasonic sensors (USS) to sense objects in the world around them. It’s part of the company’s shift towards its camera-only Tesla Vision driver-assist tech, This is in stark contrast to the rest of the industry’s reliance on a mix of LIDAR, radar, cameras. Electrek Reports that the ultrasonic sensors in Tesla’s cars are mainly used for short-range detection to help with parking and collision warnings.

The sensors will initially disappear this month from new Model 3 and Model Y vehicles sold in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Taiwan, before expanding globally, Tesla’s notice reads. It will stop using the sensors in Model S cars and Model X cars next. 

Tesla says the shift away from ultrasonic sensors will not affect cars’ crash safety ratings. However, cars shipping without the sensors will “temporarily” lose access to some features, including Park Assist, Autopark, Summon, and Smart Summon. These features will be restored by the company once they are as good using its camera-based system.

Tesla announced last year that ultrasonic sensors will be phased out. Radar is no longer required for shipping cars. The company will continue to rely on its camera-based Tesla Vision system as its driver assistance feature. Last year, The New York Times reported that Tesla CEO Elon Musk had “repeatedly told members of the Autopilot team that humans could drive with only two eyes and that this meant cars should be able to drive with cameras alone.”

Like the removals of ultrasonic sensors last year, temporary limitations were placed on Smart Summon and other features. These restrictions were gradually removed over the following months. Following that, you can relax, and Tesla now says that these cars “have either maintained or improved their active safety ratings in the US and Europe” and that safety features like pedestrian automatic emergency braking are actually better with cameras than with radar.

But last year’s shift away from radar wasn’t entirely without its problems. It was also at the same time that a rise in reports of “phantom breaking,” which is when a car’s driver assistance systems apply the brakes because they mistakenly think the car is about to collide with something. The Washington Post reportedOn a sharp increase of complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning automatic brake issues. This was coincident with Tesla’s decision to stop shipping vehicles equipped with radar sensors. 

You can check if your Tesla has these sensors. Drive Tesla CanadaHasHere is a diagram that shows where the sensors are located on the front or rear bumpers.