Tesla's Debut Of Vehicles Without Ultrasonic Sensors Raise Questions |

They may look sleek and smooth without those circular sonic sensors, but the non-ultra-sonic Tesla was not welcomed with open arms by hundreds of Reddit users.

Two weeks after announcing it was removing ultrasonic sensors (USS), new Model 3s were delivered to owners looking noticeably less polka-dotted, leading to heated debates and several unanswered questions as the company transitions to an improved Tesla Vision and its occupancy network.

A few users said they would cancel their order, questioning how the system could effectively replace the sensors parking. User Zeek215 posted: "I had a base Model 3 to be delivered next month. I'm cancelling because of this. Not just because of the USS, but it's a trend in the wrong direction for what is an expensive car." MunroLivereported Tesla would save $114 per vehicle by eliminating USS. Users said they would have gladly paid the additional $114 to keep the system in the car.

However, this figure doesn't include the additional logistics needed to source, stock and maintain these sensors.

The biggest question about removing the USS system and going strictly with Vision is regarding accuracy. Tesla owners like pulling into parking spaces or garages and having the sensors indicate down to inches the distance to objects. The concern is that precision will be lost, and many people believe there is no way Vision can replace it.

But people were defending the switch. Callmesaul8889 posted: "Who said they don't know if they can guarantee feature parity? I've heard a bunch of Redditors claim that, but Tesla has explicitly said they feel they can match or exceed the USSs with Vision alone in the original announcement... I get the impression that some of you guys assume Tesla has a bunch of dumb dumb engineers who are constantly cutting costs without thinking of the consequences..."

Tesla anticipated these concerns when it announced it was removing USS. In that announcement, it stated: With today's software, this approach gives Autopilot high-definition spatial positioning, longer range visibility and ability to identify and differentiate between objects. As with many Tesla features, our occupancy network will continue to improve rapidly over time.

Many Reddit users who were more supportive of the Vision system believe it will reach parity with USS quickly, as the company said in the initial announcement. We will know when Tesla is confident with Vision when the non-polka dot vehicles get some features enabled.

For example, the non-USS Teslas will not be able to use Park Assist, Autopark, Summon or Smart Summon. But according to Tesla's website: once these features achieve performance parity with today's vehicles, they will be restored via a series of over-the-air software updates.

Another popular question was if the company would stop supporting the system in USS-enabled vehicles. Telsa posted: At this time, we do not plan to remove the functionality of ultrasonic sensors in our existing fleet. USS will be removed from the Model S and Model X in 2023.

The Kilowatts on Twitter took a close look at these new Teslas' cameras and discovered no significant differences between the two.

Some speculated that Tesla would add a front bumper camera, but that doesn't appear to be the case. The biggest noticeable change is that the repeater cameras on the fenders appeared to have a slightly different housing. There's no word whether the lens itself, the sensor, or the angle of the camera is any different from previous Teslas.

Since the Cybertruck's introduction, we've wondered how Tesla would integrate ultrasonic sensors into the vehicle, however, it looks like we now have our answer.

There's no question that this move cuts costs and reduces complexity for Tesla, allowing them to manufacture even more vehicles and increase operating profits. The only question is how close can Tesla's occupancy network get to the accuracy that ultrasonic sensors provide.

Tesla is now manufacturing non-performance Model Y and Model 3 vehicles with an upgraded suspension, alongside other improvements for 2023.

CEO Elon Musk responded to Twitter user @rhensing’s comment about the Model Y’s suspension being “stiffly sprung and handles more like a car than an SUV.”

“Standard (non-performance) 3 & Y suspension in production now has improved comfort, without affecting handling,” Musk says.

The Model 3 and Model Y’s suspension is arguably not one of the most comfortable, so these upgrades are very much welcomed. My 2021 long-range Model 3’s suspension is not what I expect from a $60,000 vehicle. I feel every rock, pebble, and crack while driving it.

Tesla is also rolling out additional changes for their 2023 model year starting at their Fremont and Shanghai factories.

The 2023 Model Y contains two improvements, among others. According to Chris Zheng, the back seat will now extend out 30mm (1.2 inches) for the left and right passengers, while the middle seat will remain at the same depth. This change appears to be starting in Shanghai with other factories coming later. Rear Doors Emergency Release Tesla improved the rear doors emergency releaseTesla

Tesla has also updated the emergency rear door release for the Model Y. Unfortunately, the emergency release is still not readily accessible like the front doors, however, it is now more easily reached.

Getting to the new emergency release requires removing the rubber mat from the rear door pockets and lifting a flap. This will reveal a cable with a handle that when pulled will mechanically unlatch the door.

This change is now in place for the Model Ys produced in Fremont and Shanghai, while other factories are expected to follow suit soon.

It's expected that these two changes will eventually carry over to the Model 3 as well.

Tesla continues to make safety improvements across their models.

Tesla recently announced that it will be pushing an OTA software update to implement Emergency Safety Solutions’ HELP functionality, which stands for Hazard Enhanced Location Protocol. Tesla will be the first automaker to implement the HELP system into their vehicles.

Not many details have been revealed about Tesla's next-generation FSD hardware, but news out of China suggests that the new hardware will use considerably improved cameras.

One of Tesla's suppliers appears to have produced and shipped new 5-megapixel cameras and sensors to Tesla. These new cameras will likely be used for HW4 since the current hardware probably can't keep up with 8, 5-megapixel cameras.

Currently, Tesla uses cameras with a resolution of 1.2 megapixels, so this would be a major upgrade to the current hardware.

The news comes from one of Tesla’s Chinese suppliers, Lianchuang Electronics. @ChrisZheng001, who shared the news on Twitter, asked Elon Musk to confirm the details, but Musk didn't respond.

Breaking news, Tesla's tier 2 supplier Lianchuang Electronics said on the investor platform in China that the mass production and delivery of the HW4.0 platform camera has begun. @elonmusk Can you confirm it? pic.twitter.com/NJHOZW4e6t

The new camera details emerged when the supplier was asked if they will be supplying their 5-megapixel cameras to Tesla.

Translated from Chinese, the question reads: Tesla recently officially announced that from October, North America, Europe, Japan, South Korea, Australia and other markets except for mainland China would fully implement the pure vision solution and officially switch to HW4.0 system, and replace the original cameras with 5MP HD cameras. As a supplier of Tesla's cameras, will the company supply these 5MP to Tesla's provider Samsung on a large scale?

A company official responded: “The company’s camera business has good momentum, and HW4.0 cameras have begun mass production and shipment.” (translated from Chinese)

At Tesla's first AI Day, Elon revealed Tesla's plans for FSD hardware. He announced that Tesla was researching the next major hardware revision for full self-driving, HW4, which he guessed would be released with the introduction of the Cybertruck.

At the time, Elon also said that Tesla was looking into new cameras, which aligns with the recent statements from Tesla's camera supplier in China.

Musk didn't want to comment on HW4 at AI Day 2, but it's possible that the revised self-driving computer could be coming soon. As Elon mentioned at the first AI day, the HW4 release may be coupled with the release of the Cybertruck, which is expected to begin production in mid-2023.

Recently the Cybertruck was spotted with what appeared to be cameras strapped to the outside of the vehicle, which could mean Tesla was testing new camera placements.

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