Tesla said it is dropping radar systems in its lower-priced electric cars in favor of cameras and other AI equipment — even as the company faces growing scrutiny over its “autonomous driving” features.
Starting in May, Model 3 and Model Y Teslas sold in North America will no longer feature radar, which until now has been an important component of the vehicles’ “self-driving” and “autopilot” features, the company revealed Tuesday.
“These will be the first Tesla vehicles to rely on camera vision and neural net processing to deliver Autopilot, Full-Self Driving and certain active safety features,” the company said on its website.
New, radar-less Tesla vehicles may temporarily have at least three features disabled “for a short period during this transition,” according to the company.
Tesla is dropping radar to power its “Autopilot” and other “self-driving” features in its Model 3 and Model Y cars.Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images
The automatic steering feature may be limited to a maximum speed of 75 miles per hour and will require a longer distance between vehicles. “Smart Summon,” which retrieves vehicles from parking lots without requiring drivers to be behind the wheel, may also be disabled — as may a feature that prevents cars from
