Tesla: Why Might Radar Make a Comeback?

According to documents published with the American authorities, Tesla plans to add a new radar to its vehicles in mid-January.

The American billionaire might reconsider and reintegrate the radar into the Tesla. Ultrasonic sensors that allow environmental monitoring at close range were removed earlier this year. Considering that cameras are better suited to the needs of driver assistance systems, Elon Musk had the radars removed from his cars.

A new sensor for driving

For several years, Elon Musk has been seeking to exploit his autonomous driving system. The American manufacturer has long claimed that full autonomy could be achieved through cameras arranged around the car, but experts have judged that the system was not reliable enough to ensure user safety.

Tesla has reportedly accepted some criticisms. The company recently requested permission to use a radar for its vehicles starting in January 2023. This decision comes after the removal of radars in 2021 and ultrasonic sensors earlier this year. In October, Tesla removed its 12 ultrasonic sensors from Model 3 and Model Y vehicles built for North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Taiwan. These sensors measure distance using ultrasonic waves. They are used as proximity sensors to support anti-collision safety systems, especially for parking.

In June 2021, Elon Musk had stated that he would not use sensors for autonomous driving. “Safety will be higher with pure vision [using cameras] than with vision combined with radar. Vision has become so good that radar actually reduces the signal-to-noise ratio,” announced the billionaire. He added that “a very high-resolution radar would be better than pure vision, but such a radar doesn’t exist.”

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