Tesla Autopilot safety features are still active in Model 3 and Model Y vehicles that have been manufactured without radar, the automaker said on its website.
On Tuesday, Tesla announced that Model 3 and Model Y vehicles manufactured from May 2021 would no longer equip the radar systems that were utilized by the Autopilot and Full Self-Driving suites. Instead, Tesla will rely on its camera-based approach, which it is calling “Tesla Vision.” The Model S and Model X will still equip radar for a short period, but Tesla plans to eventually transition these two vehicles to a camera-based system as well.
In its announcement earlier this week, Tesla said that Autosteer would be limited to a maximum speed of 75 MPH and a longer mandatory following distance. Meanwhile, Smart Summon and Emergency Lane Departure Avoidance “may be disabled at delivery.”
Earlier this week, the NHTSA updated its website to reflect the fact that Tesla would no longer have several active safety features, but in fact, they are still active. Tesla says that neither the NHTSA nor the IIHS has rated vehicles equipped with Tesla Vision, but the agencies will perform a retest in the coming weeks, according to an update to its Tesla Vision page.
Now, Tesla has also added a table to its website to reflect what features are still active with Tesla Vision-only cars, comparing the features to vehicles that still have radar included.
The automaker wrote:
“The following standard features are available upon delivery on vehicles equipped with radar or Tesla Vision. Asterisked features only mean that NHTSA or IIHS have not yet rated them for vehicles equipped with Tesla Vision. We expect those ratings will be restored through confirmatory testing in the coming weeks.”
Credit: Tesla
As you can see, all of the standard safety features are still active. The NHTSA and IIHS need to retest Forward Collision Warning, Automatic Emergency Braking, and Lane Departure Warning/Avoidance. Emergency Lane Departure Avoidance is listed as “Coming Soon.”
Teslarati reached out to the NHTSA for a statement regarding when the confirmatory testing would occur but hasn’t received a response yet.
Tesla has long worked toward eliminating radar from its cars, instead aiming to use a camera-based approach for its self-driving systems. According to Musk, having Tesla’s eight external cameras navigate the road is a much better option because having the camera and radar try to coexist causes some issues with how accurate the vehicle can navigate.
“When your vision works, it works better than the best human because it’s like having eight cameras, it’s like having eyes in the back of your head, beside your head, and has three eyes of different focal distances looking forward. This is — and processing it at a speed that is superhuman. There’s no question in my mind that with a pure vision solution, we can make a car that is dramatically safer than the average person,” Musk said during the Q1 2021 Earnings Call.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below, or be sure to email me at joey@teslarati.com or on Twitter @KlenderJoey.
Elon Musk
Starlink restrictions are hitting Russian battlefield comms: report
The restrictions have reportedly disrupted Moscow’s drone coordination and frontline communications.
SpaceX’s decision to disable unauthorized Starlink terminals in Ukraine is now being felt on the battlefield, with Ukrainian commanders reporting that Russian troops have struggled to maintain assault operations without access to the satellite network.
The restrictions have reportedly disrupted Moscow’s drone coordination and frontline communications.
Lt. Denis Yaroslavsky, who commands a special reconnaissance unit, stated that Russian assault activity noticeably declined for several days after the shutdown. “For three to four days after the shutdown, they really reduced the assault operations,” Yaroslavsky said.
Russian units had allegedly obtained Starlink terminals through black market channels and mounted them on drones and weapons systems, despite service terms prohibiting offensive military use. Once those terminals were blocked, commanders on the Ukrainian side reported improved battlefield ratios, as noted in a New York Post report.
A Ukrainian unit commander stated that casualty imbalances widened after the cutoff. “On any given day, depending on your scale of analysis, my sector was already achieving 20:1 (casuality rate) before the shutdown, and we are an elite unit. Regular units have no problem going 5:1 or 8:1. With Starlink down, 13:1 (casualty rate) for a regular unit is easy,” the unit commander said.
The restrictions come as Russia faces heavy challenges across multiple fronts. A late January report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated that more than 1.2 million Russian troops have been killed, wounded, or gone missing since February 2022.
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War also noted that activity from Russia’s Rubikon drone unit declined after Feb. 1, suggesting communications constraints from Starlink’s restrictions may be limiting operations. “I’m sure the Russians have (alternative options), but it takes time to maximize their implementation and this (would take) at least four to six months,” Yaroslavsky noted.
Elon Musk
Tesla Korea hiring AI Chip Engineers amid push for high-volume AI chips
Tesla Korea stated that it is seeking “talented individuals to join in developing the world’s highest-level mass-produced AI chips.”
In a recent post on X, Tesla Korea announced that it is hiring AI Chip Design Engineers as part of a project aimed at developing what the company describes as the world’s highest-volume AI chips. CEO Elon Musk later amplified the initiative.
Tesla Korea stated that it is seeking “talented individuals to join in developing the world’s highest-level mass-produced AI chips.”
“This project aims to develop AI chip architecture that will achieve the highest production volume in the world in the future,” Tesla Korea wrote in its post on X.
As per Tesla Korea, those who wish to apply for the AI Chip Design Engineer post should email Ai_Chips@Tesla.com and include “the three most challenging technical problems you have solved.”
Elon Musk echoed the hiring push in a separate post. “If you’re in Korea and want to work on chip design, fabrication or AI software, join Tesla!” he wrote.
The recruitment effort in South Korea comes as Tesla accelerates development of its in-house AI chips, which power its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, Optimus humanoid robot, and data center training infrastructure.
Tesla has been steadily expanding its silicon development teams globally. In recent months, the company has posted roles in Austin and Palo Alto for silicon module process engineers across lithography, etching, and other chip fabrication disciplines, as noted in a Benzinga report.
Tesla Korea’s hiring efforts align with the company’s long-term goal of designing and producing AI chips at massive scale. Musk has previously stated that Tesla’s future AI chips could become the highest-volume AI processors in the world.
The move also comes amid Tesla’s broader expansion into AI initiatives. The company recently committed about $2 billion into xAI as part of a Series E funding round, reinforcing its focus on artificial intelligence across vehicles, robotics, and compute infrastructure.
Elon Musk
SpaceX and xAI tapped by Pentagon for autonomous drone contest
The six-month competition was launched in January and is said to carry a $100 million award.
SpaceX and its AI subsidiary xAI are reportedly competing in a new Pentagon prize challenge focused on autonomous drone swarming technology, as per a report from Bloomberg News.
The six-month competition was launched in January and is said to carry a $100 million award.
Bloomberg reported that SpaceX and xAI are among a select group invited to participate in the Defense Department’s effort to develop advanced drone swarming capabilities. The goal is reportedly to create systems that can translate voice commands into digital instructions and manage fleets of autonomous drones.
Neither SpaceX, xAI, nor the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit has commented on the report, and Reuters said it could not independently verify the details.
The development follows SpaceX’s recent acquisition of xAI, which pushed the valuation of the combined companies to an impressive $1.25 trillion. The reported competition comes as SpaceX prepares for a potential initial public offering later this year.
The Pentagon has been moving to speed up drone deployment and expand domestic manufacturing capacity, while also seeking tools to counter unauthorized drone activity around airports and major public events. Large-scale gatherings scheduled this year, including the FIFA World Cup and America250 celebrations, have heightened focus on aerial security.
The reported challenge aligns with broader Defense Department investments in artificial intelligence. Last year, OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and xAI secured Pentagon contracts worth up to $200 million each to advance AI capabilities across defense applications.
Elon Musk previously joined AI and robotics researchers in signing a 2015 open letter calling for a ban on offensive autonomous weapons. In recent years, however, Musk has spoken on X about the strengths of drone technologies in combat situations.
Starlink restrictions are hitting Russian battlefield comms: report
Tesla Korea hiring AI Chip Engineers amid push for high-volume AI chips
