Tesla To Stop Installing Ultrasonic Sensors On New Vehicles

In a new post on its website today, Tesla Inc TSLA has announced that the new Model 3 and Model Y will no longer be delivered with ultrasonic sensors (USS).

This follows last year's removal of the front radar system in Tesla's push to use only cameras and no other sensors to navigate its self-driving cars throughout the world around it.

USS are common on most cars available today. The small sensors usually dot the front and back bumpers of a vehicle and are responsible for accurate distance measurements for parking (the familiar ding you hear as you back in towards a wall or another vehicle) and awareness of other objects close to the vehicle, usually less than a few feet away. 

Tesla mentioned initially park assist, auto park, summon and smart summon abilities will not be available to vehicles without USS, but will be added back in a future software update. The USS being canceled does not affect Tesla's government crash safety ratings. The Model S and X will not have USS starting in 2023. 

Photo: Courtesy of Tesla