Tesla is beginning to follow through with Elon Musk’s pivot away from using radar for its driver-assistance system Autopilot, five years after espousing greater use of such sensors following a fatal crash.
The electric-car maker announced on its website Tuesday that Model 3 sedans and Model Y SUVs built for North America will no longer be equipped with radar starting this month. Autopilot will now operate largely using camera vision, and some features will be temporarily disabled due to the transition.
Musk referred to radar sensors as “crutches” Tesla wanted to eliminate during the company’s latest earnings call. In September 2016, the chief executive officer announced Tesla would upgrade Autopilot by enhancing use of radar. Musk told reporters at the time that he believed the improvement would have prevented a crash that occurred months earlier involving a Model S operating on Autopilot with sensors that failed to detect a tractor trailer before a fatal collision involving a former Navy SEAL.