Tesla claims that going forward, the removal of ultrasonic sensors will be standard practice for all freshly manufactured models, beginning with EVs made in Taiwan, North America, Europe, and the Middle East. From October on, every Model 3 and Model Y will be affected by this shift, and the Model S and Model X will follow suit in 2023. However, models without ultrasonic sensors will also have fewer features, including as Park Assist, Autopark, Summon, and Smart Summon, during this transition. On the new Tesla models, each of these functionalities will either be deactivated or restricted “for a brief period of time.”
After the latest group of cars has met the performance requirements of its current fleet, Tesla explained, the aforementioned functions would be eventually restored via over-the-air updates. It’s very ridiculous that new Tesla buyers would get less components and functionality for their brand-new cars, especially because much older models already come with everything. When they are made to test an experimental Autopilot system that mainly relies on Tesla Vision, it becomes even more ludicrous. However, it is uncertain if employing purely vision-based methods of assisting drivers and automating vehicles would prevent incidents like the Tesla Autopilot mistaking the moon for a traffic light. In any case, the new Autopilot upgrade confirms Tesla’s apparent belief that less is more.
